The Department of Health appealed yesterday to the public to temporarily refrain from using drugs containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA) after the US took steps to remove PPA from all drug products on Monday.
"We need to understand more about the side effects of PPA and let the public know whether Taiwan will ban PPA or not," said Oliver Hu (
The US Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory concerning the risk of hemorrhagic stroke -- or bleeding into the brain -- associated with PPA hydrochloride. Scientists at Yale University School of Medicine conducted a study in which researchers found an association between PPA use and strokes in women. An increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke in the three days after taking the medicine was detected among women using the drug for weight control and for nasal decongestion. Men may also be at risk.
Hu said European countries and Japan are also considering the matter, but have not yet followed America in banning drugs with PPA.
"In the interests of public health, we appeal to the public not to use drugs containing PPA before the department's research comes out," he stressed.
According to the department's statistics, there are around 460 drugs for weight loss and colds containing PPA. In the past, all approved diet drugs contained PPA.
The department held a press conference yesterday to announce the approval of a new medicine, Orlistat, as a prescription diet drug that contains no PPA.
"This drug is not over-the-counter and has its side effects. But many people are interested in it. That's why we'd like to remind people to use it with care," said Lee Ming-liang (
Lee said Orlistat can be used for up to two years, but patients need to replenish Vitamins A, D, E and K while taking the drug.
Pregnant women, the elderly and people whose liver, kidney or digestive functions are weak, or whose bile secretion is insufficient are advised not to use Orlistat, Lee said.
"Over 90 percent of users will have gastrointestinal problems and their excrement will become very oily," said Larry Ho (
Ho said the resultant flatulence and anal seepage when using the drug could also lead potentially to hygiene problems. The function of Orlistat is to prevent the intestines and stomach from absorbing fat from food. Unabsorbed oil is then excreted from the body.
Ho said clinical experiments in other countries had been conducted to prove the effect of Orlistat. Forty-one people in Taiwan have also tested it. "Average weight loss was around 4kg," Ho said. "But diet control, as well as the drug, plays an important role in losing weight."
"Its optimum effect is to reduce 10 percent of body weight," Ho said. "Any medicine which claims to lose more than 10 percent of weight is misleading customers."
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
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