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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Joseph Lee and an oral reply by the Acting Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Gabriel Leung, in the Legislative Council today (November 25):
Question:
It has been reported that recently a spate of incidents of members of the public purchasing questionable medicines on the Internet have occurred, and some members of the public even developed abnormal mental conditions such as emotional disturbance, hallucination and suicidal thoughts after taking slimming medication purchased through auction web sites. These medicines were found by laboratory tests to contain western medicine ingredients. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of complaint cases received by the Department of Health in each of the past five years about the adverse reactions members of the public had after taking slimming products, health food and medicines purchased on the Internet; whether it had instituted prosecutions in respect of such complaints; if it had, of the number of prosecutions and details of the penalties; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) whether it has new measures in place to monitor the sale of slimming products, health food and medicines on the Internet; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) given that the sale of slimming products, health food and medicines on the Internet is increasingly prevalent, whether the Government will reconsider amending the relevant legislation and increasing the penalties, so as to plug the loopholes and safeguard public health; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) The number of cases received by the Department of Health (DH) in each of the past five years about the adverse reactions members of the public had after taking slimming products, health food and medicines purchased on the Internet is shown in Annex 1.
In the past five years, the number of prosecutions instituted in connection with the sale of medicines on the Internet is shown in Annex 2.
(b) At present, DH has been monitoring the sale (including auction sale) of slimming products, health food and medicine on local websites. If any product on sale is found to be in violation of the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, the person who puts the product up for sale will be prosecuted. In addition, persons-in-charge of the websites will also be required to delete information about the product from their websites.
To strengthen public education and enhance community awareness, DH has also advised persons-in-charge of the websites that they should post messages at the relevant position on their web pages to remind both buyers and sellers that sale or possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products or prescription drugs is prohibited. To step up prosecution against offenders, DH has conducted targeted actions in collaboration with the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force. If any sale of unregistered pharmaceutical products or prescription drugs is detected, DH will take a joint operation with the Police to arrest and prosecute the seller concerned.
(c) The sale of pharmaceutical products on the Internet is also subject to regulation under the laws of Hong Kong as detailed below:
Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap. 138), the sale of unregistered pharmaceutical products is an offence. In addition, it is also an offence if a pharmaceutical product classified as a poison under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance is not sold with a proper licence or under the supervision of a registered pharmacist, or if a pharmaceutical product which is a poison requiring prescription for its sale is not sold under the supervision of a registered pharmacist or with a prescription by a medical practitioner. Any person in violation of the above requirements (including the sale of these pharmaceutical products on the Internet) is liable to a fine of HK$100,000 and imprisonment for two years upon conviction.
Under the Antibiotics Ordinance (Cap 137), antibiotics must be sold in pharmacies under the supervision of a registered pharmacist with a prescription by a medical practitioner. Any person in violation of this requirement is liable to a fine of HK$30,000 and imprisonment for one year upon conviction.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap 134), dangerous drugs must be sold in pharmacies under the supervision of a registered pharmacist with the support of a prescription by a medical practitioner. Any person in violation of this requirement is liable to a fine of HK$5 million and life imprisonment upon conviction.
Under the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap 60), any person who imports a pharmaceutical product from any place outside Hong Kong (including offshore websites) must first obtain an import licence from DH. Any person in violation of this requirement is liable to a fine of HK$500,000 and imprisonment for two years upon conviction.
To protect members of the public from being induced by undesirable medical advertisements to seek improper self-treatment which may cause damage to their health as a result of improper medication or delay in seeking treatment from healthcare practitioners, the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance (UMAO) (Cap 231) prohibits any person to publish, or cause to be published, any advertisement likely to lead to the use of any medicine, surgical appliance or treatment for the purpose of preventing or treating certain diseases or bodily conditions as specified in Schedules 1 and 2 to the Ordinance. Such advertisement includes, among others, those posted on the Internet. DH will conduct regular checks on the market (including the Internet) and take follow-up action in accordance with the law if any suspected violation of the UMAO is found.
Targeting at the sale of slimming products, health food and medicines on the Internet, DH has stepped up public education and its control and enforcement actions as well as conducting special operations in conjunction with the Police in an effort to combat illegal trading of these products on the Internet. DH will continue to monitor the situation and review the relevant measures.
Ends/Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:53
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