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Products found to contain undeclared medicines

 
Public urged not to buy or consume unregistered pharmaceutical products (with photos)
 
The Department of Health (DH) today (March 13) appealed to members of the public not to buy or consume unregistered pharmaceutical products, including 10 slimming products called "Leisure 18 Slimming Coffee", "7 Days Slimming Coffee", "Brazilian 7 Days Slimming Coffee", "Beauty Secret Slimming Coffee", "Body Beauty 5 Days Slimming Coffee", "Leisure 18 Slimming Mango Juice", "Leisure 18 Slimming Orange Juice", "Authentic Leisure 18 Slimming Orange Juice", "Super Slim Orange Juice" and "Coffee Fashion Slimming".

During the DH's surveillance programme, samples of the above slimming products were obtained from various retail shops for analysis and were found to contain undeclared and banned drug ingredients that may be dangerous to health. According to the Government Laboratory's test results of the product samples, all of them contain either one or both of the undeclared and banned drug ingredients, sibutramine and phenolphthalein.

Sibutramine is a Part I poison and was once a western medicine used as an appetite suppressant. Since November 2010, products containing sibutramine have been banned because of an increased cardiovascular risk. Phenolphthalein was once used for treating constipation but has been banned for its possible cancer-causing effect.

In response to the laboratory findings, four retail shops, three in Central and one in Wan Chai, were raided today in a joint operation by the DH and the Police. During the operation, apart from some of the slimming products mentioned above, other unregistered pharmaceutical products (see Annex), some of which are controlled medicines (including Part I poisons and antibiotics), were found in three shops. Three men and one woman aged between 40 and 46 were arrested in the operation.

The controlled medicines found include creams that either contain tretinoin or clobetasol (steroid) with ketoconazole (antifungal) for skin disorders, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (naproxen, mefenamic acid) for the relieve of pain, and amoxycillin (antibiotic) for the treatment of infections. These are prescription medicines that should only be used under the advice of medical practitioner.

The DH's investigation is continuing.

According to the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap 138), all pharmaceutical products must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong (the Board) before they can be sold legally in the market. Part I poisons should be sold at registered pharmacies under the supervision of registered pharmacists. Illegal sale or possession of Part I poisons and unregistered pharmaceutical products are criminal offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years' imprisonment. According to the Antibiotics Ordinance (Cap 137), illegal sale or possession of antibiotics is criminal offence. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $30,000 and one year's imprisonment.

A DH spokesperson strongly urged members of the public not to buy products of unknown or doubtful composition, or consume products from unknown sources. They should also refrain from buying and using unregistered pharmaceutical products, as they have not been evaluated by the Board and their safety, quality and efficacy may not be guaranteed. All registered pharmaceutical products should carry a Hong Kong registration number on the package in the format of "HK-XXXXX".

Members of the public who have purchased the above products should stop using them immediately. People who are in doubt or feeling unwell after using the concerned products should consult health-care professionals for advice. They can submit the products to the Drug Office of the DH at Room 1856, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, during office hours for disposal.


Ends/Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Issued at HKT 21:34

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The Department of Health today (March 13) appealed to members of the public not to buy or consume unregistered pharmaceutical products, including 10 slimming products called "Leisure 18 Slimming Coffee", "7 Days Slimming Coffee", "Brazilian 7 Days Slimmin
 
Photo shows part of the seizures during the operation.
 
 
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