Hollywood Stars Using Clenbuterol

When asked about their recent rapid weight loss, emaciated starlets trip out the same old excuses.

Theyre on a low-carb, high-protein detox or a juice fast; theyre seeing this great new diet guru; theyre working out; or theyre really busy.

Weve heard it all before. But in the past few months the smokescreen shielding the secret world of celebrity slimming has started to lift. Its being openly acknowledged that Hollywood is in the grip of a diet drug phenomenon.

"Trainers like me laugh ourselves silly listening to celebrities talk about their diet and exercise routines," says Jackie Warner, the co-owner of Sky Sport & Spa in Beverly Hills.

"If you want to get your body seriously skinny in three weeks, its going to be difficult the natural way."

But theres nothing natural about Celeb-lands latest take on the trend to be uber-tiny that has seen some of the worlds highest profile women shrink to less than 40 kilograms.

Poster girls for this scrawny silhouette include Victoria Beckham, photographed at the recent fashion shows looking painfully gaunt, while in the U.S., the pack is led by Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, Mischa Barton and now Kate Bosworth, seen this week looking skeletal at a Dazed & Confused party in New York.

All five share the hallmarks of being seriously underweight ? chicken wing arms, deflated, sagging breasts and protruding hip and chest bones.

And three of them are "Zoe-bots", clients of the super-stylist Rachel Zoe.

Pin thin herself, she has championed the boho blonde, big sunglasses look in Los Angeles and masterminds the wardrobes of the Hollywood hot property she refers to as my girls.

Many believe its Zoe who is behind the emaciated look. But its an accusation that shes quick to squash.

"I dont think its fair to say Im responsible because Im a thin person, or that because Im influencing their style Im influencing what they eat," she says.

"There was this crazy rumour I was buying clenbuterol online direct from the UK and distributing them. I was like: OK, Ive never even tried cocaine. I dont do drugs ? Im too much of a control freak. "

But despite her denials, fellow stylists believe the image Zoe is creating is the catalyst for a new craze that sees many actresses resorting to clenbuterol in a bid to stay svelte.

"Now everyone in Hollywood thinks they look fat, every photo shoot turns into a therapy session," says one stylist.

Another adds: "If I get 20 samples and 15 are too small for the client, she needs a strong sense of self not to get caught up in it. Everywhere in LA theres someone slimmer, tanner, blonder." In essence, someone who has been given the Zoe treatment. Jackie Warner and fellow LA trainer Chad Mouton say more and more women are using the drug clenbuterol, to slim down ridiculously quickly.

But possession and purchase for private use isnt illegal and clen, as its known, is frighteningly easy to buy over the internet. It was first used by bodybuilders who discovered it can burn fat while increasing muscle mass.