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Taipei customs confiscate multiple shipments of illegal weight loss pills

28 Jul 2023 04:13pm
For illustration purposes only - Photo: 123RF
For illustration purposes only - Photo: 123RF
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TAIPEI - Taipei Customs has stopped 60,000 weight loss pills containing the banned substance sibutramine from entering Taiwan between January and June.

Central news agency (CNA) reported Taipei Customs, which is responsible for the clearance of air cargo and air express consignments in northern Taiwan, in a statement on Thursday said that it had stopped 16 shipments of the illegal medication, 13 from Vietnam and three from Thailand.

It estimated that each pill has a market value of NT$8 (US$0.26) in Taiwan due to the relatively low purity of sibutramine at 1-3 percent, giving the shipments a combined value of NT$480,000.

The statement added that because the illegal substance was not featured on the ingredients list, purchasers may have been unaware that the pills were illegal.

Sibutramine, which is declared a Category 4 narcotic in Taiwan in Sept 2021, can cause side effects such as high blood pressure, palpitations, cardiac arrest and even death, the statement said.

Many countries, including the United States, China and European Union nations have already banned the substance for public health reasons. - BERNAMA

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