The FDA added seven more sexual enhancement and energy products to its list of health fraud scams in September 2026, part of a growing roster of items found to Contain Drugs hidden pharmaceutical ingredients, according to The Conversation. One earlier example, Rhino 7S Type F3 7000, prompted a May 2023 FDA warning after lab testing found undeclared sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, and acetaminophen, the pain reliever sold as Tylenol.
Bright colors, bold promises and names like "Rhino," "Anaconda" and "Magnum" are hard to miss. The products show up online, in convenience stores and at gas stations, and some can even be ordered through delivery services.
The catch is that what's inside may be very different from what's on the package.
Andrew Yockey, an assistant professor of health and kinesiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, wrote the piece. He says the FDA has kept a growing list of health fraud scams since 2007, including Enhancement and energy products found to Drugs hidden pharmaceutical ingredients. Recent warnings have involved pills, gummies, honey products, coffee and even chocolates.
In the U.S., dietary supplements are regulated under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which makes manufacturers responsible for ensuring their products are safe and properly labeled. Supplements generally skip the FDA's premarket approval process, so the agency does Drugs Not approve them for safety and effectiveness before they reach consumers, as it does with medications.
The FDA does periodically inspect supplement manufacturing facilities and test some products. It does not routinely test every supplement on store shelves. Instead, it prioritizes products tied to illnesses or injuries and those suspected of containing fraudulent, adulterated or otherwise illegal ingredients.
Hidden sildenafil matters because of what it can do. Sildenafil and tadalafil, the active ingredients in Viagra and Cialis, are effective erectile dysfunction treatments when appropriately prescribed. Taking them unknowingly is another story: they are known to interact with nitrate medications, including nitroglycerin used by some people with heart disease, and the combination can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure.
The undeclared acetaminophen in the Rhino 7S case added another risk. Someone taking the supplement while also using Tylenol, cold medicine or other acetaminophen-containing products could unknowingly exceed recommended amounts. Acetaminophen overdose can cause severe liver injury and, in extreme cases, acute liver failure or death. It was not clear why the acetaminophen was in the supplement or how it got there.
The problem is not limited to a few familiar drugs. A 2023 scientific review identified 112 unapproved phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and related compounds detected as adulterants in Enhancement products between 2003 and mid-2023. Nor is it only American: in one study of 158 Enhancement supplements available in the United Arab Emirates, researchers found undeclared sildenafil, tadalafil or vardenafil in more than 12% of the products they tested.
Yockey also writes that pulling one dangerous product does not clear the market. Packaging can change, products can reappear under new names, and sellers can hop from one website or social media account to another. Researchers who tracked a supplement marketed as "POWER" from 2007 through 2022 found phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors in every version they tested, but the specific adulterants changed over time.
Even the FDA acknowledges that its public warning list covers only a fraction of contaminated products on sale. In other words, a product's absence from the list is not evidence that it is safe. Words like "natural," "herbal" and "dietary supplement" don't promise a pill is drug-free either, and U.S. law does not require Enhancement supplements to carry a warning about undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients.
The Conversation reached out to RhinoPills for comment, and the company did not respond.