Doctors abuse risky diet pill, say pharmacists
Local pharmacists have criticised private doctors for abusing the dangerous slimming drug phentermine - consumed by 6,000 to 10,000 people a day in Hong Kong - after the South China Morning Post reported that some were recklessly prescribing slimming drugs.
A female Post reporter with a body mass index (BMI) of 20 was prescribed various slimming drugs by three private doctors. According to the World Health Organisation, the optimal BMI is between 18.5 and 25.
A recent study commissioned by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Hong Kong found private doctors prescribed more than 2.7 million phentermine pills last year - 99.7 per cent of the total local consumption.
About 2.85 times more phentermine pills are consumed in Hong Kong than the newer but safer slimming drug sibutramine, because it is cheaper and works more efficiently.
The study followed a report by the UN International Narcotics Control Board in March that pinpointed Hong Kong as the sixth-largest user of anorectics - substances that suppress appetite - and urged the government to strengthen regulation.
Phentermine, launched in 1959, can reduce people's weight by an average of 3.6kg in six months, but can cause side effects such as increased blood pressure and heart rate, insomnia and long-term heart disease.
The US Food and Drug Administration recommends phentermine be prescribed to people with a BMI over 30, or those with a BMI over 27 if accompanied by chronic illness such as diabetes.
Sibutramine can help users lose an average of 4.45kg in 12 months, while orlistat, another new slimming drug, can help users lose 2.75kg over the same period.
The average monthly cost for phentermine is HK$124, compared with HK$546 for sibutramine and HK$686 for orlistat.
The Society of Hospital Pharmacists' William Chui Chun-ming said at least two people were admitted to Hong Kong hospitals after taking phentermine between July 2005 and last December.
He said people should not blindly pursue weight loss or ask doctors for dangerous slimming drugs as a quick fix. He also said doctors should prescribe the drugs more judiciously.
'[Doctors] should not take advantage of people's ignorance,' he said.
The Society of Hospital Pharmacists, the Pharmaceutical Society and the Practising Pharmacists' Association called on the government to monitor the consumption of phentermine more closely and consider taking it off the drugs registry.
'In many western countries, the doctors are responsible for prescribing, and the pharmacists for dispensing, so the pharmacists can double-check doctors' prescriptions. But in Hong Kong, we lack such a system,' said society vice-president Ewan So Yiu-wah. In Hong Kong, doctors both prescribe and dispense drugs.
He suggested people using phentermine seek a second opinion, but not stop taking it without advice.
Medical Association president Choi Kin did not rule out that some private doctors might have abused the use of phentermine, but he believed their numbers were limited.
Drug intake
The amount of phentermine imported to Hong Kong in 2006 (in kg) 148
SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
