February 10, 2001
The Department of Health (DH) today (February 10) advised members of the public not to buy and use three "health food" products which contained a western medicine, Sildenafil.
The three products are sold in the form of tablets and are imported from the Mainland:
* Boy Joy (Importer's hotline 2648 8841 operates from 9 am on Monday (February12))
* My Lover (Importer's hotline 2583 9032 operates from 9 am on Monday (February 12))
* "Yi Li Chun" (Importer's hotline 2891 7074 operates from 9 am on Monday (February 12))
A spokesman for DH said: "Importers of the three 'health food' products have been instructed to immediately recall their products from the market and to surrender them to DH."
"Members of the public who have purchased any one of the products, are advised to stop using them, dispose of the products or return them to the importers concerned."
"The use of Sildenafil must be supervised by medical practitioners as it could cause side effects such as serious hypotension amongst people with heart diseases."
DH has a surveillance programme to regularly sample and analyse "health food" and proprietary Chinese medicine to detect the presence of western medicine ingredients.
Products containing western medicine are pharmaceutical products and must be registered under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance before they are allowed to be put on sale.
The three products were found to contain Sildenafil which is a western medicine used for erectile dysfunction (impotence). The three products have not been registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
The spokesman reminded importers and retailers that the possession and sale of unregistered pharmaceutical products was an offence liable to a maximum penalty of $100,000 fine and two years' imprisonment. Retailers should remove the three products from their shelves and return them to the importers.
Currently there is only one pharmaceutical product containing Sildenafil that has been registered in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is a prescription only medicine and must be used under the guidance of a doctor.