Beware of illegal foreign traditional medicines: Government

Beware of illegal foreign traditional medicines: Government

JAKARTA (JP): The unauthorized distribution of traditional
Chinese and Korean medicines in the capital has reached an
alarming level, officials and observers said on Friday.

Director General of Food and Drug Control at the Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare, Sampurno, said the government has
therefore tightened controls over the marketing of foreign
traditional medicines here, by requiring such imported items to
pass a "red line" screening, a strict checking mechanism by the
Customs and Excise Office.

"We found 154 unregistered Chinese drugs on the market during
a recent operation. So, we warn people to be very careful as many
of these have not been medically tested.

"There were a total of 1,323 such items on sale before we
imposed tight regulation on the importation of traditional
medicines. After strict screening, only about 130 managed to pass
the test and be officially registered," Sampurno told The Jakarta
Post by phone.

Director of Consumer Protection at the Ministry of Trade and
Industry, Budiyono, also confirmed that he had received
complaints from the public about unregistered medicines.

Sampurno said a massive influx of foreign traditional
medicines was unavoidable, especially during the current crisis.

"As their prices are far cheaper than registered modern
medicines, people tend to resort to them despite a lack of
information on their contents and possible side effects. This is
dangerous," Sampurno said.

In several cases, Chinese traditional medicines used for the
treatment of rheumatism were found to consist of the same
chemical substances as used in prescription drugs, he said.

"Irregular doses and the long-term use of these drugs could
induce kidney failure, but people are not aware of this as the
labels are all written in Chinese," he added.

Sampurno further said people should check for the official
label "TI" (Imported Traditional) or "TR" (Local Traditional) on
the packaging of traditional medicines.

Zoemrotin K. Susilo, an executive, and former chairwoman, of
the Indonesian Consumers' Foundation (YLKI), said that besides
being sold at regular drugstores, the medicines were also being
distributed door-to-door.

"To attract buyers, (the medicines' suppliers) hire attractive
people to offer the medicines to make it look like that the
medicines are really effective," she told reporters on the
sidelines of a media briefing on consumer protection.

Zoemrotin also said that the suppliers had recruited many
housewives to sell them at women's gatherings, locally known as
arisan.

"It's very alarming as these women do not know what the
suppliers are selling," she said.

She added that the medicines, which are offered as remedies
for various ailments, had not been tested for their effectiveness
and could be harmful to consumers.

"The medicines are like a knife with two edges, they can cure
or kill," Zoemrotin said.

Sampurno explained that imported traditional medicines are
regulated under Ministry of Health Decree No. 1297/1998.

"Every foreign medicine must have a distributor here, who has
been officially appointed by the producer concerned. It must also
possess a certificate of resale, so as to show that the product
has also been distributed in the country of origin.

"In addition, such medicines also have to obtain certificates
of content analysis and, last but not least, they have to pass
safety tests, conducted by government laboratories in respected
schools of medicine, such as the University of Indonesia,
(Yogyakarta-based) Gajah Mada University and (Surabaya-based)
Airlangga University," he said.

The Food and Drug Control Office has opened a hotline for
complaints, reports and information concerning traditional
medicines at (021) 426-3333.

"Actually from 1980 to 1998, imported traditional medicines
were banned from entering the country.

"Only those manufactured here were allowed," Sampurno said.

"Later, the rule was revoked and the producers were given the
possibility of obtaining a two-year permit, in the expectation
that they would set up production here. But it didn't work that
way as they kept on extending the permits.

"So we have revised the rules and imposed tight controls on
imported drugs," he added. (edt/jaw)