Woman's death highlights risk of herbal diet products
Aug 16, 2005
Slimming aids containing fenfluramine were
banned in the US in 1997.
A 53-year-old woman has died and hundreds of others
may be risking their lives by turning to herbal diet
products that contain unsafe western medical ingredients,
the Department of Health has warned.
The woman died recently after using herbal
health products found to contain the substances
fenfluramine and propranolol.
Philippa Yu, executive officer of the Hong Kong Eating
Disorders Association (HEDA), echoed the warning, saying
the need to be slim has spiralled out of control in
Hong Kong.
Dr Lo Kwok-wing, a member of the Hong Kong Society
of Obesity, says it is hard to predict how many more
dieters will fall victim to the remedies.
In addition to the death of the 53year-old woman, hundreds
more may have fallen ill over the years and the numbers
could soar, Lo warned.
The products are seen as a quick fix solution to dieters
unwilling to lose weight the right way - exercising
regularly and eating properly.
Natural or herbal health foods are not subject to the
Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance or the Chinese Medicine
ordinance, which restrict the sale of drugs.
The herbal dietary products are considered to be health
foods and no pre-market approval is required.
It is only when the Department of Health receives information
from the general public that products are tested.
``The government needs to maintain a balance between
market and public health,'' said Yu. ``I don't think
the government has enough experience or policies to
control the problem [of Western medicines mixed in herbal
slimming products].''
Raymond Ho, representative of the engineering functional
constituency of the Legislative Council, said while
it is not possible to test all the health foods before
they come into the SAR, ``selective testing of products
from specific places could help.''
Ho also suggested collaboration between governments
would help. ``We can't rely on our own government, we
do not have enough resources and have to maintain close
communication with other governments, including China,''
he said.
Legco passed an amendment to the Undesirable Medical
Advertisements Bill last June that prohibits or restricts
advertising claims of herbal or health foods which must
also state the ingredients on the labels. The products
are not tested before they reach Hong Kong and the government
has to rely on the manufacturers to be truthful.
RS Slim & Fit, Trim Up Plus Birds Nest and other
health foods have already been yanked off the shelves
and banned by the Department of Health.
Fenfluramine was banned in the United States in 1997
after being linked to several deaths. Western dietary
drugs can only be prescribed by doctors and are usually
used to treat severe obesity.
The case of the unnamed woman who died is still being
investigated. There is no English name for the product
she consumed, believed to have contained fenfluramine,
which is often mixed with phentermine.
The ``fen-phen'' craze in the US led to more than 50,000
product liability lawsuits filed by alleged victims.
In Hong Kong, fenfluramine was deregistered in 1998
after being linked to heart-valve disease. But slimming
aids containing the drug can still be found in the territory
and other parts of the world, according to health experts.
In a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Eating Disorder
Association in 2003, 60 percent of 1,200 women of all
ages surveyed in the SAR were considered normal weight,
yet 90 percent of them said they had tried slimming
products.
With increasing trade flows between Hong Kong and China,
authorities are finding it difficult to control the
banned products although importers, wholesalers and
retailers selling unregistered pharmaceuticals face
a fine up to HK$100,000 and two years in prison.
Since 2003, only 26 herbal slimming products, containing
Western medicines, have been recalled.
Herbal slimming products containing Sibutramine, also
known as Meridia, an appetite suppressant that causes
increases in blood pressure and heart rate, are among
the latest products banned in the SAR. Sibutramine was
the first appetite suppressant to receive approval by
the United States Food and Drug Administration after
the fenfluramine ban. In 2002, 29 deaths were linked
to the drug since its launch in 1998. Italy banned it
in 2002 and withdrew all products that contained the
ingredient after receiving 50 reports of health-related
problems linked to the drug.
According to Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group
which petitioned to ban Sibutramine in the US, 19 of
the deaths were caused by adverse cardiovascular effects
in users of the drug. Abbott Laboratories, which produces
the drug, continues to stand behind it.
In Hong Kong this year, five of the eight slimming
drugs banned by the Department of Health contained Sibutramine.
In the Consumer Council survey on health foods released
Monday, five percent of respondents reported side effects
such as diarrhoea, insomnia, lassitude, dizziness, sweating
and thirst. Some side effects were attributed to slimming
or herbal tea products.
An analysis of 80 health food product labels found
most of them gave no information on contra-indications
and side effects.
The number of proprietary Chinese medicine samples
for treatment of obesity sent to the government laboratory
increased sixfold over 2003, according to a Hong Kong
government laboratory report last year.
Source: http://www.thestandard.com.hk
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