A
study has found that many herbal medication products sold in Samut Sakhon
province are laced with steroids
Panuchote Tongyang, chairman of the Rural
Pharmacist Society, said he conducted the study by collecting samples in the
province between 2005 and 2009 and then testing them at the Department of
Medical Science.
Speaking at a news conference held to release
a report on the 2011 drug situation in the country, Panuchote said he had
discovered that many herbal medicines used to treat diabetes, arthritis, blood
pressure and muscle strain contained high levels of steroid substances.
The study also discovered that many
pharmaceutical companies were violating the law by sending steroids - a
controlled drug - directly to drugstores and clinics in Samut Sakhon.
"There was no information available about
buyers who ordered steroid substances in the receipts issued by the
pharmaceutical companies. This data need to be sent to the Food and Drug
Administration," he said.
Panuchote added that provincial public health
offices only looked into orders of more than 10,000 tablets of steroids.
Besides, when officials asked drugstore owners
to present receipts from pharmaceutical companies about a steroid order, they
usually said they had lost the papers.
"We need to develop a system to monitor
the distribution of steroids to protect people's health, because these drugs
are very dangerous if consumed for an extended period," he said.
Meanwhile, Kotchanuch Sangtaland of the
Foundation for Consumers said studies showed that one in five patients admitted
to hospitals was suffering from the side effects of drugs.
Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation/Asia News Network
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