November 27, 2012

The Department of Health today urged people not to buy or consume slimming product Aulura Energy Balance Dietary Supplement, as it may contain undeclared and banned drug ingredients that are dangerous to health.
 
The Hospital Authority reported that a 19-year-old woman who used the product fell ill with psychiatric symptoms, and was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on November 19. A drug-related adverse effect was suspected. She was discharged from hospital on the same day after treatment.
 
Tests on the product, which the patient purchased online, found the presence of two undeclared and banned Western medicines, sibutramine and phenolphthalein.
 
Sibutramine is a Part I poison and was once a Western medicine used as an appetite suppressant. Since November 2010, products containing sibutramine have been banned because of cardiovascular risk. Phenolphthalein was once used in treating constipation but is now banned for possible cancer-causing effects.
 
People should consult doctors before taking any medication for weight control, the department said.