Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ1: Slimming products
Following is a question by the Hon Starry Lee and a reply by the Secretary for
Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (November 17):
Question:
It has been reported that new slimming products are replacing old ones on the
market, and various types of slimming products boasting natural ingredients and
effectiveness are promoted on quite a number of auction websites, discussion
forums and personal blogs on the Internet, and the number of complaints received
by the Consumer Council this year concerning sales of pharmaceutical products on
the Internet has obviously increased compared with last year's, and all the
complaints are related to slimming products sold on auction websites. It has
also been reported that in the past six years, at least 73 persons had become
ill and were hospitalised after consuming slimming products which claimed to be
"all-natural" but were in fact adulterated with western drug ingredients. In
tracing and analysing 66 cases of people hospitalised after taking slimming
products during the period from 2004 to last year, the Hospital Authority
Toxicology Reference Laboratory had revealed incidents in which one person died,
one had to undergo liver transplant because of liver failure, and 16 had
suffered from mental disorders due to consumption of slimming products that
contained a western drug, sibutramine. In this connection, will the Government
inform this Council:
(a) of the number of complaints received by the Department of Health (DH) in
each of the past three years concerning slimming products and the nature of
these complaints, including the numbers of cases which involved products
containing undeclared western drug ingredients or chemical substances and
Internet sale of unregistered slimming products; how DH had followed up on these
complaints, of the numbers of persons arrested, the number of convicted cases
and the penalties imposed; how many products claiming to be effective for
slimming had been tested by DH in each year during the same period, of the
results of such tests and the number of products involving Internet sale;
(b) whether there is at present legislation regulating exaggerated claims about
the effectiveness of slimming products; if so, whether the Government had
instituted prosecution pursuant to such legislation in the past three years; if
not, whether the Government will review the current situation; and
(c) given that the Report of the Review Committee on Regulation of
Pharmaceutical Products in Hong Kong, submitted by the Government to the Panel
on Health Services of this Council in January 2010, has proposed that DH's
Pharmaceutical Service should be expanded into a dedicated office on drugs to
strengthen DH's regulatory role in enhancing drug safety and in the long run,
consideration will be given to expanding the office to become a "Centre for Drug
Safety", of the latest progress of this initiative; whether the Government has
plans to put regulation of slimming products within the ambit of the future
Centre for Drug Safety; if so, of the details?
Reply:
President,
(a) During the period between 2008 and October 2010, the Department of Health
(DH) received a total of 18 complaints in connection with slimming products. Of
these 18 complaints, six involve illegal sale of prescription slimming drugs and
the remaining 12 involve products with undeclared western drug ingredients.
After investigation, DH did not find violation of any legislation in five of the
six complaints involving illegal sale of prescription slimming drugs while the
person involved in the other complaint was convicted of having violated the
Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (PPO) and fined $3,000.
Among the 12 cases involving slimming products with undeclared western drug
ingredients, follow-up action is being taken with the Police in one of these
cases. For the other 11 cases that have been handled, investigation revealed
that the products in nine of these cases were found to contain sibutramine or
its analogs whereas western drugs were not found in the products in the other
two cases. During DH's follow-up investigation, it was found that the products
involved in two of the nine cases above were not sold in Hong Kong and thus no
further action could be taken. As for the remaining seven cases, the person
involved in one of the cases was convicted of having violated the PPO and fined
$10,000. In another five cases, trading of such products on the Internet was
involved. Although the sellers have not yet been located, the websites involved
have been deleted by order and DH has also made public announcements about the
problematic products. DH is currently seeking advice from the Department of
Justice on the remaining one case. No product recall was necessary in these
seven cases.
Apart from handling complaints, DH also carries out proactive surveillance
action on drugs available in the market on a regular basis. DH staff conduct
test purchases from local retailers to detect illegal sale of prescription
slimming drugs to people without a prescription. Between 2008 and October 2010,
a total of 157 operations were conducted by DH and in two of these cases, the
persons involved were convicted of having violated the PPO and fined $1,500 and
$9,500 respectively.
Besides, DH conducts testing on the drugs purchased from the market, especially
slimming products, to ensure the safety of the products and to find out whether
the products contain undeclared western drug ingredients. Between 2008 and
October 2010, DH collected a total of 2,424 slimming products from the market
for testing and 11 of them were found to contain undeclared sibutramine or its
analogue. DH immediately ordered the suppliers to recall the products and made
public the relevant information.
In response to complaints, DH will also carry out inspection at beauty service
providers and buy from them slimming products which are suspected to contain
undeclared western drug ingredients for laboratory tests. If test results show
that the slimming products purchased are adulterated with western drug
ingredients, DH will prosecute the relevant service providers. Since 2008, a
total of nine beauty service providers have been inspected, one of which was
prosecuted with a fine of $10,000.
Given that many people buy and sell slimming products on the Internet in recent
years, DH has since October 2009 started to make purchases of slimming products
on the Internet for laboratory tests. If test results show that the slimming
products purchased contain western drug ingredients, DH will carry out a joint
operation with the Police. For cases involving sale and purchase of such
products on the Internet, the webmasters involved will be ordered to delete
their websites and DH will make a public announcement about such problematic
products.
In general, upon detection of a slimming product containing undeclared western
drug ingredients, DH will make a public announcement about the incident and call
on members of the public not to use the slimming product in question. Health
messages on overweight problem and slimming products are available on the
webpage of the DH's Pharmaceutical Service for those who are conscious of their
body weight. The webpage also provides information on all slimming products
found to contain undeclared drug ingredients since 1998, so as to heighten the
public's alertness regarding these problematic products in addition to
dissemination of health messages on weight control among the public.
(b) Slimming products containing western drug ingredients must be registered as
pharmaceutical products through an application process before they can be put up
for sale in Hong Kong. Information about the products' safety, efficacy and
quality is also required to be submitted for consideration.
Trade descriptions about the performance of non-pharmaceutical products are
subject to regulation under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap 362). Under
the Ordinance, any person who applies a trade description which is false to a
material degree commits an offence and is liable to a maximum fine of $500,000
and imprisonment for five years. The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) is
responsible for enforcing the Ordinance.
Since 2008, C&ED has received only one complaint about the slimming effect of a
non-pharmaceutical product. Upon investigation, there was no sufficient evidence
showing that the claim involved was a false trade description. The Commerce and
Economic Development Bureau has earlier conducted a review on the scope and
operation of the Ordinance in conjunction with C&ED. Apart from proposals to
extend the application of the Ordinance to cover trade descriptions in respect
of services, recommendations have also been made on law enforcement with a view
to stepping up efforts in combating commonly seen unfair trade practices.
(c) At present, slimming products containing western drug ingredients are
handled by DH's Pharmaceutical Service. These slimming products can only be put
up for sale in Hong Kong after they have been registered as pharmaceutical
products. Failure to do so is an offence and DH will carry out follow-up
investigation.
The Administration is now planning for the resources required for DH to
implement the 75 recommendations put forward by the Review Committee on the
Regulation of Pharmaceutical Products, including setting up a dedicated office
for drugs to strengthen the regulatory role of the DH's Pharmaceutical Service.
As proposed in the Report of the Review Committee on Regulation of
Pharmaceutical Products in Hong Kong, consideration will be given to expanding
the office to be a "Centre for Drug Safety" in the long run to handle all kinds
of drugs, including slimming products that contain drugs.
Ends/Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:59
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