People turning to traditional medicines
People turning to traditional medicines
JAKARTA (JP): Soaring drug prices have made many people turn
to traditional medicines.
The surge in demand for alternative medicines has tempted
unscrupulous businesspeople to import unregistered and well-known
brandnames illegally.
Officials from the Ministry of Health have reported an influx
of illegally imported Chinese traditional medicines. They filed a
report with the Director General of Customs and Excise last month
but there has been no response.
"We had hoped they would take immediate action upon receiving
our report," the ministry's Director General of Food and Drug
Control Sampurno told journalists on Monday.
In the report, he said, at least 11 unregistered brands of
imported traditional medicines are listed. Routine monitoring
also uncovered many unregistered food items and food supplements
for sale in several markets.
"Consumers need protection and legal certainty. If the
products are unregistered, consumers have no way to file a
complaint if something goes wrong because the producers are not
known," Sampurno said.
He added that illegal importation of traditional medicines
also caused the government to suffer a considerable loss in tax
revenue.
Since normalization of diplomatic ties between China and
Indonesia in 1990, there have been numerous exhibitions here
promoting Chinese medicines and other export items and imports
have risen steadily.
Most of the medicines sold here retain their Chinese labeling
and carry no expiry dates.
Health Law No. 23/1992 stipulates that anyone producing or
distributing substandard traditional pharmaceutical products are
subject to a maximum of five years in prison or a Rp 100 million
fine. The punishment will be raised by one-fourth if the
violation caused serious illness, or one-third if it resulted in
death.
Sampurno said his office had received complaints from
consumers regarding imported traditional medicines; some related
to misleading claims and expensive prices.
Unfortunately, he said, some of the unregistered drugs have
even been advertised in the mass media. "We urge the media not to
advertise unregistered products," Sampurno said.
He also urged consumers for their own good not to consume
illegal traditional medicines.
"The most important thing is, consumers should not consume
illegal medicines. If something happens to them, they can't do
much about it," Sampurno said.
Supermarkets should cooperate by not selling unregistered
products because the Law on Consumer Protection will be enforced
beginning April 20 and they can be held responsible, he warned.
(ste)