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Anti-impotence herbal products recalled
23 October 2004
The Ministry of Health has recalled four products sold as herbal
remedies for the treatment of erectile
dysfunction.
The ministry warns they contain ingredients known to interfere with some heart medication and could be fatal to some men.
Director-General of Health, Dr Karen Poutasi, said yesterday the
products contained undeclared prescription medicines sildenafil
or tadalafil that are active substances in Viagra
and Cialis.
Viagra is the only brand of sildenafil approved for sale in New Zealand and is a prescription medicine, as is Cialis.
The affected products are Platinum Plus, Manup capsules, BoyJoy and Wei Ge Wang.
Platinum Plus, labelled as a herbal supplement, failed to disclose it contained tadalafil, Dr Poutasi said.
The other three were labelled as Chinese herbal medicines and only listed herbal ingredients, some of them only in Chinese characters.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe products were discovered to contain the medicines following routine testing and through information received by Medsafe.
A statement from the Ministry of Health said there was no reliable information on how many people took the products but it appeared that at least 30,000 packs of Platinum Plus had been distributed.
The two undeclared prescription medicines should not be used by people with high or low blood pressure, stomach ulcers, heart conditions, liver disease or bleeding disorders such as haemophilia.
Dr Poutasi said it was important consumers were cautious as there may be more herbal products at risk of containing prescription medicines or toxic substances.
"There are many examples in the international literature where herbal products for the treatment of impotence have been found to contain prescription medicines such as sildenafil and tadalafil." source :-http://www.stuff.co.nz/ | 
