The government is pondering that imposing stricter hints on the sale of laxatives amid points they could be abused by capability of people with eating disorders.
The Medicines and Healthcare item Regulatory Agency will examine measures related to age limits on buyers and possibly ending over-the-counter sales.
Experts say reachable evidence suggests more than half of sufferers with eating disorders have misused them.
Laxatives must by capability of no capability be used for weight control.
Medical professionals warn that laxative abuse can cause diarrhoea, dehydration and imbalances that can consequence in kidney failure.
'Dangers of abuse'
But currently, unlimited quantities of laxatives could be sold without a prescription from pharmacies and supermarkets.
Rebecca Wojturska, 29 and from Fife, Scotland, says she sold and used laxatives for four years.
"I was 19 when I first took them. My doctor had prescribed them as a five hundred week course, but then I started buying them for myself. I was spending quite a lot of money every week on them.
"I had an eating illness and it was for about four years that I was abusing them."
She welcomes the idea of more safeguards, as does Rebecca Field, a spokeswoman for eating-disorders charity Beat: "Just as painkillers are regulated to maintain clear of people overusing them and harming their own health, there must be restrictions on the availability of laxatives.
"It is fundamental that people are aware of the dangers of abusing laxatives and there must be more tuition on their effects.
"Doctors and pharmacists must also be made aware that overuse of laxatives is absolutely one in every of the signs of an eating disorder, so that they are able to intervene and ensure sufferers get treatment."
The MHRA says its UK-wide evaluation will take "some months".
A spokesperson said: "We are reviewing the safety of stimulant laxatives following points about the energy for abuse and misuse and pondering that how regulatory measures can finest help their proper use, in line with fresh medical guidance.
"All medicines, including those sold over-the-counter, must be used responsibly and as told in the information sold with the medicine.
"Patient safety is our maximum priority and we work to make sure the benefits of medicine outweigh the risks. This contains assessing despite even when regulatory action is needed to minimise the energy for abuse."