Tamiflu alert

The Standard – Worried patients pushing doctors to prescribe the anti-flu drug Tamiflu could be leaving themselves more open to the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus. Read more

HK at centre of global drugs scam

The Standard - Hong Kong is at the centre of a scam channeling counterfeit drugs from the mainland abroad, according to an industry insider.

Counterfeiters have moved from lifestyle drugs including impotence, sleeping and slimming pills and antifungal shampoos to medicines for severe and chronic conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol, and liver and heart problems, a source in the local pharmacy industry revealed. Read more

Herbal sex remedy linked to cancer

Reuters, CanWest – Two men seeking to boost sexual performance and grow bigger muscles instead ended up with advanced prostate cancer after taking “herbal” supplements, US doctors said. Read more

Drug alert: ‘Urine disease’ product contains heavy metals

Health Canada release – Health Canada is warning Canadians not to use the unauthorized product Yeniujyn (Chinese name: 立止夜尿丸) because the product contains heavy metal contaminants and may pose a serious health risk. Yeniujyn is advertised as a natural health product, for adults and children, to be used “to cure involuntary passage of urine diseases.” The product was found to contain high levels of lead and arsenic. Read more

Lingzhi spores products’ breakage rate questioned

CM NEWS, Hong Kong Consumer Council release – Are products of lingzhi spores（靈芝孢子）as good as their manufacturers’ claim? One claim seemingly universal among the manufacturers is the assertion over the breakage rate of the spores – that each and every spore and its wall are fully broken or cracked open purportedly to maximize the efficacy of the product. Read more

Diabetes drugs Avandia, Actos to include heart failure warnings

(Editor’s note: This is not a news article related to TCM. But I’d like to include it here because of its importance. I intend to include drug warnings from time to time.)

AP – The diabetes drugs Avandia and Actos will be labelled with severe warnings about a risk of heart failure to some patients, health officials in the United States said Tuesday. Read more

Avoid red yeast rice products promoted as treatments for high cholesterol, FDA warns

Medicine News Today – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to buy or eat three red yeast rice products promoted and sold on web sites. The products may contain an unauthorized drug that could be harmful to health. The products are promoted as dietary supplements for treating high cholesterol. Read more

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