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The Department of Health (DH) today (November 2) called on members of the public not to buy or use a medicinal product called "Shenxiaotoutongsan" (神效头痛散) which was found to have contained three undeclared western drug ingredients that may cause side effects.
A DH spokesman said the department obtained samples of the product for investigation after the Hospital Authority reported a case involving a 36-year-old woman who had consumed the product brought back from the Mainland.
The patient was admitted to United Christian Hospital for headache and neurological symptoms on August 4. She had already been discharged and investigations revealed that her admission was not related to the consumption of the product.
However, laboratory analysis received today have shown that the product contained three western drug ingredients, namely, phenacetin (非那西丁), aminopyrine (氨基比林) and phenobarbitone (苯巴比妥). These ingredients were not declared on the labels of the product.
Phenacetin and aminopyrine were used previously as pain killers but were banned in Hong Kong in 1983 and 1984 respectively due to their serious side-effects such as haemolytic anaemia (a disease relating to the destruction of red blood cells) and agranulocytosis (a disorder with a severe acute deficiency of certain white blood cells.)
Phenobarbitone is a western drug ingredient used for the management of epilepsy. Its known side-effects are sedation and respiratory depression. Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, products containing this ingredient are Third Schedule poisons and can only be sold on a doctor's prescription and under the supervision of a pharmacist.
The spokesman said the product concerned was not registered in Hong Kong and DH has no record of the product being imported for sale.
Members of the public are advised not to take the product and seek medical attention if they feel unwell.
Anyone who is in possession of the product should dispose of it or submit it to the DH’s Pharmaceutical Service at the third floor, Public Health Laboratory Centre, 382 Nam Cheong Street, Kowloon during office hours.
Ends/Thursday, November 2, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:53
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