The Cabinet’s Department of Consumer Protection said on Tuesday that 27 of the 28 counterfeit and controlled sexual enhancement drugs which it knows to be on sale in Taiwan are available at adult shops.
The agency and the Food and Drug Administration under the Department of Health (DOH) seized a total of 53 types of suspected illegal sex-enhancing drugs during a series of raids on 106 sex shops, 106 market vendors and 91 pharmacies nationwide between late April and the middle of May.
Among the drugs seized, 25 were found to contain neither illegal substances nor active ingredients, said Wang Te-ming, a consumer ombudsman.
Most of the 28 illegal, unlicensed drugs on sale were related to sexual enhancement, including sprays, two types of pills and powders, as well as a few creams and oils, said Chang Chia-lin (張嘉麟), an official at the department.
Currently, the only legal sex-enhancing drugs available in Taiwan are Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, all of which require a doctor’s prescription, the government agency said.
The 28 illegal products seized mainly contained anesthetics such as Lidocaine, Benzocaine and Dibucaine, health department official Hung Ming-kun (黃明坤) said.
Individuals who are knowingly involved in the supply, prescription, delivery, storage or display of counterfeit and controlled drugs risk imprisonment of up to seven years, plus a fine of up to NT$5 million (US$167,000), the officials said.
In the event of death from the consumption of such drugs, both the makers and the dealers could face prison sentences of between seven years and life, and in the case of serious damage to health, offenders could receive sentences between three and 12 years, the officials said.
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