24 Apr 2009
In response to media enquiries on the call for tighter control of the selling of pharmaceutical products containing salicylates in Hong Kong, a spokesman for the Department of Health said today (April 24) that the Registration Committee of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board would discuss the issue at its meeting on April 27.
The spokesman said DH had noted the precautionary advice issued by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) that Bonjela, a treatment for mouth ulcers containing salicylate, should not be given to children under 16 as the ingredient is chemically similar to aspirin, a drug which has been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but serious condition.
"The advice is only a precautionary measure, based on a theoretical risk that salicylate could increase the possibility of children developing Reye's syndrome,"the spokesman said.
The spokesman said MHRA's recommendation would also be taken into account by members of the Registration Committee.