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Taiwan News Quick Take

■ CRIME

Fake cigarettes are N Korean

Most of the 6.1 million packs of smuggled cigarettes seized in Taiwan -- worth about NT$336 million (US$10.4 million) -- are fake Japanese brands, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. A report published on Sunday in Japan's Sankei Shimbun said that to gain foreign currency reserves, North Korea has 10 factories manufacturing counterfeit Japanese cigarettes that are smuggled into Taiwan. A former major source of North Korea's foreign reserves was amphetamine production, the report said. However, because of crackdowns on drugs in many countries, two of the three amphetamine factories were shut down, the report said, adding that the North had switched to producing counterfeit cigarettes. The factories help Pyongyang earn foreign reserves worth between US$500 million and US$700 million annually, according to the report, and Taiwan is the largest market.



■ HEALTH

Peruvian patient doing well

A Peruvian woman who underwent surgery for elephantiasis in her left leg last month is recovering well, an E-Da Hospital spokesman said on Sunday. Maria Rosario Razzeto, 45, came to Taiwan on Nov. 9, accompanied by her son, through the assistance of Dr. Chang Chia-hau (張家豪), who is on the staff of the hospital. Razzeto praised the team that operated on her in an interview to a group of journalists from Central and South America who were covering her story. Razzeto told the group that her "giant leg" -- which had weighed 47kg -- made it difficult for her to move and was extremely painful. It also left her too ashamed to go out. Razzeto now can bend her left leg and walk with the help of a walking frame. E-Da's rehabilitation center said Razzeto might be able to walk normally after one or two months of physiotherapy. The hospital has covered the cost of Razzeto's operation and hospitalization. It is also planning to give her a tooth implant when she returns for a check-up in February or March to give her a new smile.



■ HEALTH

Dopamine agonist alert

The Department of Health yesterday issued a reminder about the possible side-effects of a drug commonly used to treat people with Parkinson's disease. Dopamine agonists routinely used to alleviate symptoms of the degenerative disease have been linked to compulsive behaviors such as pathological gambling. Although yesterday's press release said that there are no known domestic cases of this side-effect, medical care providers and patients were still reminded to be alert for uncharacteristic compulsive behaviors.
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