Chinese-made Diet Aids Takes Toll in Korea

As fear of side effects from Chinese diet supplements including narcotics has spread all across the world, unproven Chinese medical supplies and food are reported to be circulating in Korea, putting the related authorities on alert.

Fake medical supplies and foods are decorated with eye-catching phrases such as `diet aids recommended by Mao Zedong`s private doctor`, `One of Four Great Chinese Cures`, `secret recipe for 300 years`, and `cure for brain damage, which awakens people in coma`. These fake medical supplies are being sold under the name of tonic, rejuvenator, cures for arthritis, diabetes, palsy or hepatocirrhosis, or diet aids.

Doctors warn that most of these medical supplies contain narcotics or large doses of antibiotics, so it is dangerous to take such fake medicines over the long term.

▽ Actual Condition in Korea

Chinese-made medicines, which are known to be effective for obesity, have been illegally introduced and circulated in Korea. These medicines have been brought by Korean-Chinese vendors and tourists into Korea since the mid 1990s.

These medicines have been identified to contain Fenfluramine, element of narcotic. These medicines had been known to stimulate the central nervous system and restrain appetite, but, in fact, have negative impact on liver.

Vendors in traditional markets in Seoul sell capsules made of extracts from cartilages of sharks or fatty acid extracted from beef tallow, exaggerating them as wonder drugs for arthritis at prohibitive prices.

Ointments, which have been known to whiten human skin, were turned out to contain harmful substances such as lead.

Expensive tonic in the form of liquid represents another problem. The drink-type tonic was made of Viagra illegally copies in China. The nation`s Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) detected 14 companies in April that sold health supplements

containing Viagra.

▽Experts` Advice

Officials of the KFDA said, "People should take caution in choosing Chinese-made medical supplies, whose efficacy has not been scientifically proven. The public awareness is required that they must visit drug stores when buying medicines."

Doctors warn that if ordinary people misuse and abuse Viagra without a purpose of curing sexual disorder, it would do them harm than good."

A doctor, who has frequently visited China, said, "In a word, Chinese-made wonder drug is simply a lump of antibiotic."

He also said, "It is not that all Chinese herbal medicines are fake. Now, about 1000 foreign companies have advanced into the Chinese market to modernize Chinese traditional medicines. The problem is that fake medicines produced in rural areas that are free from the control of the central government are illegally distributed in Korea and neighboring countries."

▽ Fenfluramine Scandal

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry of Japan announced additional six diet aids made in China as dangerous products regarding deaths of those who took Chinese-made diet aids. With the new announcement of the Health Ministry, total of eight diet supplements have been designated as dangerous medical supplements. As of the 22nd, the number of Japanese victims of diet supplements has climbed to 158 including four deaths.

hanscho@donga.com