4 days ago
Class action looms over Blackmores after vitamin B6 toxicity causes ‘tragic' injuries to expecting father
A young father left with devastating injuries is at the centre of a looming class action against a popular Australian health supplement company.
Dominic Noonan-O'Keeffe says he was taking multiple over-the-counter Blackmores supplements, to bolster his health before becoming a father.
But one magnesium product he was taking contained 29 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin B6 — making it toxic to his body, according to Polaris Lawyers.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Class action on the cards for popular health supplement company.
The Melbourne law firm's founder and principal Nick Mann said he is aware of hundreds of Australians reporting lasting injuries from B6 consumed through over-the-counter supplements.
While B6 is an essential vitamin for the brain, nervous system, immune system, hormonal regulation and metabolism, and can be found naturally in food — too much is toxic.
It can leave those who consume unsafe amounts with nerve damage, migraines, heart spasms, and sensations of burning or numbness across the body.
For Noonan-O'Keeffe, 'significant fatigue, excruciating headaches and hypersensitivity to his environment' began in August 2023, three months after he began taking Blackmores supplements.
'His symptoms escalated, with Dominic experiencing muscle spasms, neuralgia, heart palpitations, visual disturbances and loss of sensation across his body,' Polaris Lawyers said.
'Dominic was left unable to concentrate, struggling to sleep, constantly in pain and even at times found it difficult walking. His medical team would go on to identify neuropathy caused by excessive B6 levels in the Blackmores supplements.'
Such symptoms of B6 toxicity are widely reported, but the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said that 'many people are not aware' of them, in a 2022 alert to raise awareness.
This alert was published by the TGA one month after it strengthened labelling requirements on products with daily doses that included over 10mg of vitamin B6.
Noonan-O'Keeffe wants further changes to the way supplements are sold.
In a June interim decision report discussing amendment to the Poisons Standard, the TGA could not find a consensus on the levels of B6 safe enough to totally ensure against the development of peripheral neuropathy.
'Previously, it was generally considered that high intake greater than 200mg per day taken over a long period of time was required to develop peripheral neuropathy,' TGA said.
But it cited a European literature review which found supplemental doses of less than 50mg per day had caused peripheral neuropathy in some people, and there were notes of 'large inter-individual differences in sensitivity to vitamin B6 toxicity'.
The TGA listed 174 reports of nerve-damage conditions as of June 4, and cited concerns of under-reporting.
In its 2022 warning, the TGA said that in many cases of adverse reactions to B6 toxicity, patients 'were unaware they had consumed vitamin B6 as the product they were taking was a magnesium supplement'.
Of the 32 cases of peripheral neuropathy under review at the time of the alert, 28 per cent involved 'multiple medicines containing vitamin B6, some of which did not have a label warning because they contained less than 50mg of vitamin B6.'
In the class action call-out for anyone who believes they may have suffered injuries as a result of B6 toxicity, Polaris Lawyers described how Noonan-O'Keeffe 'could not have imagined the significant long term medical problems that taking the supplement would cause'.
Mann said Noonan-O'Keeffe's case was 'tragic' but noted that he 'is not alone'.
''It's alarming to walk down the vitamin aisle of any chemist in Australia and see vitamin supplements containing levels of B6 which are far and above the recommended daily intake.'
The TGA interim decision outlines a rescheduling of vitamin B6, so that products with daily dosages over 50mg will be classified as 'Pharmacist Only Medicines'.
A Blackmores spokesperson told 'All our products, including those containing Vitamin B6, are developed in strict accordance with the regulatory requirements of the TGA
'This includes compliance with maximum permitted daily doses and the inclusion of mandated warning statements. We acknowledge the interim decision issued by the TGA, and we will ensure full compliance with its final determination.'
