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China Slimming Pill Leaves 13 Sick in Singapore
Tue May 7, 9:41 AM ET
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Thirteen people in Singapore have fallen ill after taking a Chinese-made slimming pill but authorities have not proven the herbal drug is to blame.
Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) yanked the Slim 10 product from the shelves in mid-April after routine tests showed the capsules contained undeclared ingredients.
"As at 6 May, HSA has received a total of 13 reports from the doctors...mostly of a serious nature," the authority said in a statement received by Reuters on Tuesday.
Reactions included swelling of the thyroid gland and isolated cases of liver toxicity, it added.
Tests showed that Slim 10, manufactured by Guangdong-based Yue Zhi Tang Health Manufacturing, contained nicotinamide and fenfluramine in addition to its five listed herbal ingredients.
Nicotinamide is a form of vitamin B3 that can cause adverse effects when taken in huge doses.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) yanked fenfluramine from the U.S. market in 1997 after evidence surfaced that the drug, when consumed with other slimming agents, could damage heart valves.
"The association of the adverse reaction of liver toxicity to Slim 10 is not conclusive as there may be other confounding factors which could have contributed to the adverse reaction," the HSA said.
"However, in view of the circumstantial relationship that has been reported, HSA is conducting further investigations."
Some 20,000 people, mainly young women, are believed to have taken Slim 10 after the pills were launched in December, local media reported.
Singapore's newspapers and magazines are often peppered with ads for all manner of slimming pills and parlors.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...20020507/od_nm/health_singapore_slimming_dc_1
China Slimming Pill Leaves 13 Sick in Singapore
Tue May 7, 9:41 AM ET
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Thirteen people in Singapore have fallen ill after taking a Chinese-made slimming pill but authorities have not proven the herbal drug is to blame.
Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) yanked the Slim 10 product from the shelves in mid-April after routine tests showed the capsules contained undeclared ingredients.
"As at 6 May, HSA has received a total of 13 reports from the doctors...mostly of a serious nature," the authority said in a statement received by Reuters on Tuesday.
Reactions included swelling of the thyroid gland and isolated cases of liver toxicity, it added.
Tests showed that Slim 10, manufactured by Guangdong-based Yue Zhi Tang Health Manufacturing, contained nicotinamide and fenfluramine in addition to its five listed herbal ingredients.
Nicotinamide is a form of vitamin B3 that can cause adverse effects when taken in huge doses.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) yanked fenfluramine from the U.S. market in 1997 after evidence surfaced that the drug, when consumed with other slimming agents, could damage heart valves.
"The association of the adverse reaction of liver toxicity to Slim 10 is not conclusive as there may be other confounding factors which could have contributed to the adverse reaction," the HSA said.
"However, in view of the circumstantial relationship that has been reported, HSA is conducting further investigations."
Some 20,000 people, mainly young women, are believed to have taken Slim 10 after the pills were launched in December, local media reported.
Singapore's newspapers and magazines are often peppered with ads for all manner of slimming pills and parlors.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...20020507/od_nm/health_singapore_slimming_dc_1
