The Hellenic Agency for Medicines (EOF) has issued a public alert warning consumers about certain products being marketed and administered as Dietary Supplements under the broad label of Intravenous Therapy — also known as IV Vitamin or IV Nutrition Therapy. These include injectable or intravenously infused solutions (such as drips or infusions) containing vitamins, minerals, amino acids, or antioxidants, and are often advertised with health claims like “detoxification,” “anti-aging,” “weight loss,” “energy boost,” “immune support,” or “antioxidant therapy.”
Not Dietary Supplements — They’re Unlicensed Medicines
The EOF stresses that none of these products qualify as dietary supplements. According to Greek and EU pharmaceutical law, substances and liquids intended for intravenous administration fall strictly under medicinal product regulations. This means they must undergo formal marketing authorization — granted only after rigorous scientific evaluation of their quality, safety, and efficacy by the competent national medicines authority.
In other words: it is illegal to place such products on the market or administer them without a valid marketing authorization for a medicine.
Why It’s Dangerous
Dietary supplements, by definition, are intended solely to complement normal dietary intake — and are taken orally. Any product presented as having therapeutic or preventive effects on the human body is legally classified as a medicine — based on how it is presented and used.
The unauthorized production, distribution, promotion, or administration of these unapproved IV products poses serious risks to public health, the EOF warns, because:
- They have not been evaluated for quality, safety, or effectiveness — including adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), especially critical for sterile injectable products;
- Intravenous administration carries inherent risks — including infections, allergic or anaphylactic reactions, local or systemic complications, and adverse effects from unassessed active ingredients or impurities;
- Using them instead of authorized medicines for claimed therapeutic indications may result in patients receiving no effective treatment at all.
What Consumers Should Do
The EOF urges the public not to use any injectable or intravenously infused products marketed or administered as dietary supplements. Such use carries serious, potentially life-threatening health risks.
Citizens are also encouraged to report suspected illegal practices — including unauthorized sales, advertising, or administration of these products — directly to the EOF via its official reporting channels.
Finally, the agency reminds that anyone involved — directly or indirectly — in the illegal manufacturing, distribution, promotion, or administration of such products faces full legal consequences under Greek pharmaceutical law.