Acai formulas with caffeine or laxatives are often promoted for weight loss or cleansing purposes.

Driven by the compulsive need to avoid weight gain, many eating disorder sufferers consume large quantities of laxatives in order to rid the body of the food they eat Laxatives are a readily available form of medication normally taken to treat constipation Driven by the compulsive need to avoid weight gain, many eating disorder sufferers consume large quantities of laxatives in order to rid the body of the food they eat.

An Iraqi human rights activist recently revealed that Iraqi militias have been using a particularly brutal form of torture against homosexual men that involves gluing their buttocks together and feeding them laxatives.