But the worst-hit provinces have no plans to regulate medical product sales
Price controls have come into effect for all Sars-related Chinese medicines and medical products in Beijing, but not in other affected areas.
The Beijing drug administration yesterday imposed a price ceiling on Chinese remedies, which limited the potion to 9 yuan (HK$8.50) per serving, and 12 yuan per ready-made portion.
The Beijing Drug Administration was planning to distribute bottled anti-Sars Chinese medicine to the public through Tong Ren Tang, the most famous Chinese herbal medicine manufacturer in China, to satisfy the shortage, said deputy director Fang Laiyin.
Chinese medicine was sold out in nearly 1,000 drug stores in Beijing, and the administration had already received 1.6 million bottles orders, Mr Fang said.
A spokesman for the administration said the measure was to prevent further price speculation triggered by the outbreak of Sars.
'We are also censoring the content of advertisements of drugs and health products to filter out messages exaggerating their effectiveness against flu.