NEW YORK- PowerZen, Weekend Prince and MaxSize. These are just a few of the sex supplements that are flying off the shelves at bodegas across the city. They promise bedroom benefits at low, non-prescription prices, but some of them are making people sick. The FDA now says that they are not all natural or safe.
Often advertised as natural, they are sold alongside packs of gum, cashews and vitamins. The potential harm is not advertised as they seem to exist in a murky, unregulated group of products. The capsules are cheap — retailing for $5 to $10, but have very little guarantee that they will come through on promises of increased stamina and a larger penis size.
Told by PIX11 that the government has labeled them potentially harmful, one East Harlem owner went on to say, “We will take them down, and follow what the FDA says… It’s no joke about it if it’s hurting people.”
At a shop on the Upper East Side the supplements were found right next to candy, and the manager there had no idea about the effects.
The Bodega Association President Fernando Mateo said, “ The bodega owners sell items that are permissible by law, they are not breaking any rules or regulations. If the products they are selling are harmful to people’s health, then I think the government should step in and ban the products.”
The FDA said in a statement, “Dietary supplement manufacturers themselves are responsible for ensuring that products are safe and that any claims about their products are properly substantiated.”
