Traditional medicine with a dash of Viagra

Star: A manufacturer dealing in traditional medicine capsules has been found to have made and sold products that included scheduled poisons, including Viagra.
This was uncovered by the Health Ministry's pharmaceutical enforcement branch recently.
The manufacturer had applied to register its various traditional medicines with the ministry's Pharmaceutical Services Division some six years ago, said the enforcement branch's deputy director Dr Ahmad Mahmud.
“However, the moment it received the approval and registration number, it added scheduled poisons – including sildenafil (Viagra), painkillers and anti-histamines – to some of its products.
“It is illegal, but for many companies, it is a trend now to market their medicine as sex stimulants to increase their sales.”
Dr Ahmad said if a product was registered as traditional medicine, it must remain that; and nothing else should be added to it.
“Following tip-offs from the public, we decided to raid all 12 premises where the capsules are stored in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Pahang,” Dr Ahmad told a press conference yesterday.
“Initial investigations showed that one of the products did have sildenafil in it,” he said, adding that the company sold the medicine via direct selling.
Eleven of the 12 premises belonged to distributors.
The raid focused on the manufacturer's production facility, at a shoplot in the Klang Valley.
Authorities seized about RM300,000 worth of capsules.
According to Dr Ahmad, offenders could be fined up to RM25,000 or jailed up to three years or both for the first offence; and fined up to RM50,000 or jailed up to five years or both for the second and subsequent offences under the Drug and Cosmetics Control Regulation 1984.
The company involved can also be fined up to RM50,000 for the first offence or fined up to RM100,000 for the second and subsequent offences.