“Asbestos was legal and cleared for sale from a regulatory perspective for a number of years,” he said. “We’re not breaking new ground here in asserting that companies that market products to consumers have a legal obligation, both in contract and common law, that’s above and beyond what the regulator permits.”
Mann began investigating the action on behalf of Dominic Noonan-O’Keeffe, a father of one from Frankston in Melbourne’s east, who reported suffering severe and long-term injuries after taking Blackmores supplements.
Noonan-O’Keeffe began taking multivitamins in May 2023, based partly on the advice of podcasters, including American neuroscientist Andrew Huberman.
He attributed his initial fatigue to sleepless nights with a newborn baby, but by mid-November, his symptoms had grown to include intense nerve pain, extreme migraines and visual disturbances.
CT scans, blood tests and visits to his GP and physiotherapist failed to identify the cause until February last year, when his stepsister – a radiographer whose colleague had suffered B6 toxicity – asked if he was taking any supplements.
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“It was a big light bulb moment,” he said. “I stopped all my supplements straight away, got a blood test, and within a week, I had a diagnosis of B6 toxicity.”
Noonan-O’Keeffe, who would be the lead plaintiff in the suit, said he still suffers from nerve pain in his neck, numbness and tingling in his fingers, and reduced cognitive function.
“I’m hoping I’m at the tail end of a big flareup, and this is the start of [my] recovery, even though we know the recovery prospects are pretty unknown,” he said.
Katrina Puchalski, a dentist working in Sydney’s south, switched to Blackmores magnesium supplements in June last year. Within three months, she had body twitches, a restless leg, and auditory hallucinations.
She stopped taking the supplements after discovering the link between her symptoms and B6 toxicity. While her most severe symptoms subsided after about three months, the ordeal has left her frustrated and with lingering numbness in her fingers.
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“I would be crying to my partner, wondering what was happening to me and when it was going to stop,” she said. “I’m a health professional, [and] I cannot believe there are not more stringent regulations.”
In an interim decision published last month, the TGA said it was considering changes that would require any supplements with greater than 50mg of vitamin B6 to be stored behind the counter, meaning customers would need to consult a pharmacist before purchasing.
The changes wouldn’t take effect until February 2027.
University of Sydney Associate Professor Joanna Harnett, an expert in complementary medicine, said most supplements would meet the TGA’s threshold. However, it was normal for people to take several supplements at the same time, exposing themselves to unsafe levels of one ingredient.
“People who use complementary medicines believe it’s natural, therefore safe,” Harnett said. “Everything at a certain dose can be harmful to the body, including things that are derived from nature.”
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