Family members of a patient who fell into a coma after allegedly using a birth control patch yesterday warned the public about the side effects of the product, and urged the families of other possible victims to join them in a cross-nation lawsuit against the manufacturer.
Accompanied by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Huang Hsiang-chun (黃向群), a woman surnamed Lee said her sister slipped into a coma two years ago after using Ortho Eva, a birth control patch sold by a division of the US multinational Johnson & Johnson.
Lee said Ortho Eva caused blood clots in her sister’s brain, but the company has ignored the family’s demand that it take responsibility for her sister’s condition.
PHOTO: CNA
Huang said the US Food and Drug Administration has logged more than 9,000 reports of adverse reactions to the birth control patch over a 17-month period, and more than 6,000 class action lawsuits were filed around the world against the company over the matter.
Lee and her lawyer, Chiu Chang (邱彰), urged those who have suffered a similar fate to join them in seeking compensation from the company by jointly filing a class action lawsuit in the US.
Lee also accused the government of negligence in managing prescription drugs by allowing people to purchase the drugs easily in pharmacies.
“Ortho Eva is a prescription drug, but I bought a box from a pharmacy without being asked for a prescription. You can just walk in and buy it,” she said.
Chiang Yu-mei (姜郁美), director of Taipei City’s Food and Drug Division, said drugstores that sell prescription drugs without prescriptions would be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
She said the division conducts frequent inspections of drug stores to check that prescription drugs were being sold legally. She said it would continue to monitor pharmacies to prevent sales without prescriptions.
Janssen-Cilag Taiwan, a division of Johnson & Johnson Taiwan, later yesterday issued a statement expressing regret over the case of Lee’s sister, but said that the birth control patch was safe to use under doctor’s prescription.
The company said it had no comment regarding the class action lawsuits against the company in the US.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS