92 percent of seized China-made medicines contain banned drugs

According to Chen, the Department of Health (DOH) conducted examinations from 2005 to 2007 on 151 medicines submitted by local courts, health bureaus, police units, and customs offices and found that 139 failed tests for containing illegal substances.

Chen said Taiwan has not lifted the ban on imports of Chinese-made medicines. However, he said many Taiwanese people still get unsafe Chinese medicine from unknown sources.

Chen Shu-kung, director-general of DOH’s Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis, called on people to be aware of the problem and not to buy medicine when traveling in China.

Deputy Director-General of DOH’s Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs Liu Li-ling pointed out that drugs like Viagra and Cialis for erectile dysfunction, and Reductil for obesity, are found in Chinese made products for which exaggerated claims are made, and which are sold as health foods. Overdoses of the three drugs might cause heart problems and even death, she added.

She called on people to buy medicine at drug stores in hospitals or at licensed community drug stores, and to report any suspicious medicines, which sometimes appear at vendors, to the DOH.

To better combat illegal drug use, the Taiwan Medical Product Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force (TMPAC), which the DOH worked with civic groups to establish, will work with the International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPAC) for cross boundary cooperation, Liu said.

She added that Taiwan has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to cooperate in enforcing drug inspections and future training programs.

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