FDA Warnings on Rhino Pills for Men: What You Should Know

Highlights

• Rhino pills for men have been called out repeatedly by the FDA for being tainted, going back at least a decade. The Rhino founder has been jailed for smuggling.

• There’s little information available about the brand, who currently owns it, or its manufacturing and safety processes.

• The government lacks any efficient method of removing these products from the shelves.

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If you’ve been inside a gas station or convenience store in the last ten years, you’ve probably seen a brand of herbal supplements called Rhino, in packaging festooned with wild animals and extravagant claims about ED. You may have wondered just how safe these pills are. It turns out that with Rhino pills and other “gas station sex pills,” it’s smarter to stay away. 

What are Rhino Pills for Men?

Legally speaking, Rhino pills are herbal supplements that are claimed to help with erectile dysfunction and other sexual concerns using natural methods.

Beyond that, there’s not a lot out there about the Rhino brand or its product philosophy or reasons behind the herbal blends it chooses. This is perhaps unsurprising in light of the fact that the man generally considered the creator of Rhino pills, Nam Hyun Lee, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2021 for smuggling sildenafil into the United States. 

He was accused of using the sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, to taint his herbal supplements. If a look at current Rhino products is any indication, Lee’s prison sentence has done nothing to stop the problem.

What Has The FDA Said About Rhino Pills for Men?

While it’s pretty hard to nail down who runs this company now, the company’s unfortunate history of tainted products is easy to track. In fact, our research into the FDA archives found warnings related to 25 products sold under the Rhino name dating back to 2007. In 2018, they warned consumers to avoid the brand completely. 

Source: Tainted Sexual Enhancement Products | FDA. Note that this is only the first ten results of a total of 30. 

In some tests, the FDA found dangerous combinations of drugs. In 2021, one type of Rhino pill was found to contain both sildenafil and tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis. Combining ED drugs can be particularly dangerous because they all work by opening up your blood vessels. Taking them together can trigger a dangerous drop in blood pressure.

Another Rhino supplement, Rhino 8 Platinum 8000, was tested in 2016 and updated in 2018 and found to be tainted with no fewer than four drugs not listed on the label:

• Sildenafil 
• N-desmethylsibutramine, an appetite suppressant 
• Phenolphthalein, a laxative that’s being phased out of the market due to cancer risk
• Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that presents risks to people with kidney, liver, or coagulation problems

Whether all of these were added deliberately, or the sildenafil used to taint the herbs was itself tainted with other drugs, has never been established. Both are credible scenarios.

The risk to people who buy Rhino pills is very real. For people with allergies to any of these unlisted medications, the consequences can be significant. Others may take medications that have dangerous interactions with one of these hidden ingredients.

The non-profit news organization FairWarning studied complaints submitted to the FDA on Rhino pills and similar products and found at least 49 reported incidents of injury, including one possible death.

If you think Rhino may have learned the error of its ways from all these warnings, their official site implies otherwise. When we went through the products available on their online store, we consistently found recommendations that align suspiciously with contraindications for ED medications. 

In particular, the product pages for each pill warns against taking nitrates, which also open up the blood vessels, and to not take Rhino pills if you have a heart condition. These warnings are the only information on the page; you won’t even find an ingredients list.

There are other signs that Rhino pills may contain sildenafil. Despite the claims on the packaging that it can work for long periods of time, directions say to take one of these pills an hour before intimacy, just like the instructions on sildenafil and Viagra. 

You’re also warned that the pills will only work if “stimulated,” exactly the way ED medications work.

Lee isn’t the only one who’s gone to jail for these issues. In September 2020, for example, a husband and wife distributing these products in gas stations across the Southeast pleaded guilty to multiple charges. The retail outlets accepting these pills have faced lawsuits and had their employees arrested. 

Let The Buyer Beware

Because of the way the law is written, getting dietary supplements pulled from the market isn’t easy. Under the DSHEA Act of 1994, supplement makers don’t have to submit their products for FDA approval, as long as they abide by certain conditions and don’t make any specific medical claims. 

In fact, they don’t even have to tell the FDA they’re launching a product. They can just take it to market, and the FDA can only intervene if a shipment is seized at the border or if a consumer files a complaint.

Another factor is that it’s not clear when the supplements might be tainted, if all of them are tainted, and if they are, who might be doing it. Remember, Lee smuggled in the sildenafil separately from his herbs and doctored the product afterward; it wasn’t shipped with the pharmaceuticals already inside. 

Without consistent data or proof of malice, there’s not much the FDA or other government agencies can do under the current law.

A Safer Alternative to Rhino Pills for Men

Fortunately, you don’t need to bother with risky supplements. In fact, many of them are more expensive per dose than ED medication that’s proven effective. In the case of Rhino pills, the cost works out to approximately $4 per dose in lots of 100. 

In the national averages we track, generic sildenafil and tadalafil cost just a dollar or two more per dose. 

Furthermore, you can get a prescription for legitimate ED medications through telehealth services, and eDrugstore offers a complimentary consultation with a U.S.-licensed physician who will write your prescription at no extra charge. 

Get Safe ED Medications That Work with eDrugstore

We offer effective ED medications that work, are formulated in facilities that adhere to strict standards and undergo independent inspections by government authorities, and are approved by the FDA, who puts your safety first.

So, rather than risk your health at the gas station, check out our erectile dysfunction page and learn how to improve your sexual health safely.