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The Department of Health (DH) today (June 3) urged people not to buy or use two brands of slimming products named Mutual Plus Slimming Pills 01 and Mutual Plus Slimming Pills 02 because they were found to have contained undeclared ingredients that may cause serious side effects.
The appeal was made after the department's investigations into a Hospital Authority report involving a 31-year-old woman who felt unwell and had history of taking the products.
The patient was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital with convulsions on April 30 and was discharged the next day. Investigations revealed that she had taken three slimming products daily since July, 2007. The products were purchased from a local beauty shop.
Laboratory tests showed that samples of two of the three products, Mutual Plus Slimming Pills 02 and Mutual Plus Slimming Pills 01, were found to have contained Western medicine, sibutramine, and its analogue respectively.
During an operation today, the department seized samples of the same products from a supplier in Tsuen Wan. Laboratory test results are pending.
A department spokesman said sibutramine was a Western drug ingredient used as appetite suppressant for slimming under close medical supervision. Its side effects include increased blood pressure and heart rate, symptoms of psychosis, and possibly convulsion. People with heart problems should not take it.
Products containing sibutramine must be registered before they can be sold in Hong Kong. They are classified as prescription only medicine and can only be sold on a doctor's prescription and dispensed under the supervision of a pharmacist.
Further investigation by the Department of Health is ongoing.
The spokesman urged people who had used the products to stop taking them immediately and seek advice from healthcare professionals if they felt unwell.
They should submit the products to the department's Pharmaceutical Service at 3/F, Public Health Laboratory Centre, 382 Nam Cheong Street, Kowloon, during office hours, or destroy them before disposal.
The spokesman said that a balanced diet and exercise were crucial factors in keeping fit and healthy. People who wanted to reduce weight were advised to consult their healthcare professionals first.
Ends/Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Issued at HKT 22:13
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