# Anorex/Leptoprin diet pills -- really expensive speed, or what?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anorex-leptoprin-diet-pills-really-expensive-speed-or-what/167883
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 10, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anorex-leptoprin-diet-pills-really-expensive-speed-or-what/167883 "2003-04-10T20:44:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anorex-leptoprin-diet-pills-really-expensive-speed-or-what/167883/1 "2003-04-10T20:44:28Z")
The other night I caught a commercial for Leptoprin, a.k.a. Anorex, a new diet pill that was advertised for **$153 a bottle.**
Richard Roeper did a [recent column](http://www.suntimes.com/output/roeper/cst-nws-roep03.html) devoted primarily to how tacky the name (Anorex) is, but my interest is more GQ than BBQP. Roeper cites the ingredients as
> [@](#):
>
> calcium; Vitamin B6; Anorex itself, aka Leptoprin, which consists of Acetylsalicylic acid, caffeine, L-Tyrosine, Green Tea (leaf) Extract, Kelp, Cayenne and Ephedrine alkaloids (extract from Whole Plant Ma Huang).
So is this just another kind of speed, or how exactly is Anorex supposed to work? And is there anything in it, besides a reverse-psychology marketing ploy, makes this stuff (theoretically) worth $153/bottle?
(Regardless, I’m not interested in ordering it. No worries on that account.)
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### Author:  [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anorex-leptoprin-diet-pills-really-expensive-speed-or-what/167883/2 "2003-04-10T20:48:44Z")
Looks pretty suspect to me, at least. The ephedrine alkaloids are probably a stimulant (if “alkaloid” doesn’t mean it is completely different from ephedrine), but the other things: aspirin and caffeine? Calcium, Vitamin B6? Tea? Cayenne? I could go to the grocery store and put together a HUGE pot of this stuff for about $15.
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### Author:  [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anorex-leptoprin-diet-pills-really-expensive-speed-or-what/167883/3 "2003-04-10T21:00:22Z")
Well, ok, it looks to be a collection of a bunch of different substances that increase metabolism or lead to certain body chemical productions. [L-Tyrosine](http://www.healthandfitnessforums.com/ltyrosine.html) [(2)](http://www.gnc.com/health_notes/Supp/Tyrosine.htm), [Green Tea](http://www.healthandfitnessforums.com/green.html), etc. And [Ma Huang](http://www.healthandfitnessforums.com/ma.html) extract is ephedrine, which of course seems to be fairly dangerous.
Even with this big collection of stuff, I don’t know if it should be _that_ expensive, but I guess most of this stuff is.
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### Author:  [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anorex-leptoprin-diet-pills-really-expensive-speed-or-what/167883/4 "2003-04-10T23:19:53Z")
None of that stuff is worth anything. The only “diet” effect will be from the ephedrine, and you can buy much cheaper ephedrine pills if thats what you want. (But be sure to read up on the risks of ephedrine/ephedra/ma huang first).
Scam.