iHerb Suspends Melatonin Sales To Australia Following Surge Of Child Overdoses In WA
Following a surge in child overdoses in Western Australia, US-based online supplement shop iHerb has now suspended the sales of melatonin in Australia.
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While some people turn to chamomile, a heated wheat bag and some white noise to aid their sleep cycle, others turn to melatonin supplements to help them drift off into dreamland.
Per Health Direct, melatonin is a natural hormone that naturally controls your body’s sleep-wake cycle.
While melatonin is produced by the body, some people take extra melatonin to help “reset the body clock”.
“This can help if you have travelled overseas and have jet lag, if you do shift work, or if you have low vision. It can help you fall asleep at night and stay asleep for longer,” Health Direct states.
In Australia, most patients seeking melatonin need a prescription unless they’re over 55 or jetlagged to get melatonin. However, residents in Australia have been able to obtain melatonin without a prescription by using websites like iHerb. More recently, Western Australia has seen a surge in overdoses among children.
Data collected by WA’s Poisons Information Centre revealed that hotline calls concerning melatonin overdoses spiked from 147 in 2018 to 322 as of August 2025.
Per 9News, children who’ve overdosed took the sleeping aid via a gummy and suffered symptoms such as stomach aches and excessive sleepiness.
Following the concerning surge, iHerb has announced that it was suspending sales of melatonin Down Under.
In its announcement, iHerb said, “The health and well-being of our customers always comes first”.
“Our goal is to support wellness responsibly and to give our customers confidence that they can shop with safety and trust,” the announcement reads.
President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Danielle McMullen, welcomed iHerb’s decision to suspend melatonin sales in Australia and also highlighted the risks of buying medicine over the internet.
“It’s important that consumers understand that medicines available on the internet may not meet the strict safety standards imposed by the TGA [Therapeutic Goods Administration],” Dr McMullen told ABC News.
A spokesperson for the TGA also said the sale of Melatonin products (gummies or otherwise) “is not approved for use in Australia for children for any other use, noting the TGA has not evaluated the safety or efficacy for broader use in this age group”, WA Today reports.
iHerb has not disclosed how long the suspensions would be in place. However, it did say that it was reviewing its order protocols.
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