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."
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
RSS