The Department of Health today (June 8) asked people not to buy or use a brand of slimming product called "Fat Rapid Loss Capsule" (减肥降脂美) which contained a Western drug ingredient and may cause side effects.
According to the label on the pack, the product was also called "Xin yan zi pai mei zi jiao nang" (欣燕姿牌美姿胶囊).
People who have been using the product concerned are advised to immediately stop taking it and to seek medical attention if they feel unwell.
The appeal followed the department's investigations into a report involving a 56-year-old man who was said to have taken the product. It was reported that the product was bought from the Mainland. The man has not suffered from any side effects.
A department spokesman said that a sample of the product was taken for laboratory tests and was found to have contained a Western drug ingredient - sibutramine (西布曲明).
This product was not registered under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance in Hong Kong. The department has no record of the product having been imported into Hong Kong for sale.
Sibutramine is used as appetite suppressant. It can cause increased blood pressure and heart rate. People with heart diseases should not take it.
Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, products containing sibutramine must be registered before sale and can only be sold on a doctor's prescription and under supervision by a pharmacist.
Anyone who is in possession of the product concerned should dispose of them or submit them to the department's Pharmaceutical Service at the third floor, Public Health Laboratory Centre, 382 Nam Cheong Street, Kowloon during office hours.
The spokesman said people should control their weight by a balanced diet and adequate physical exercise. Before taking drugs for weight reduction or lowering blood lipid, they should first consult their family doctors.
Reprinted from HKSAR Government web page:
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200606/08/P200606080145.htm