U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone and health experts are warning about tianeptine, a dangerous chemical found in now-recalled drinks like Neptune’s Fix and Tianaa.

Speaking at JFK Medical Center Thursday, they warned the “gas station heroin” could spark a new epidemic.

Tianeptine, a chemical found in supplements available for purchase in convenience stores nationwide, has been linked to an increasing number of overdoses and emergency room visits. While there have been no deaths in New Jersey from tianeptine, Pallone has written to federal regulators asking for enforcement of the product’s recall to be stepped up. He has also asked trade groups to tell their stores to stop stocking tianeptine-based drinks.

Pallone noted claims are made that tianeptine “treats anxiety, it treats all kinds of disorders. Some claims have even been made that it can be used as an alternative to heroin or opiate,” he said. “People just believe all this stuff, all this garbage.”

Diane Calello, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center, said that supplements with tianeptine could lead people to suffer “agitation, delirium, low blood pressure, seizures, and cardiac arrest.”

While tianeptine is used in medication approved by governments overseas, it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Calello said products like Neptune’s Fix have other issues as well.

Tianeptine has been banned in nine states. New Jersey is not one of them.