Ukmedix News can confirm that these news reports were incorrect

A big fuss has broken out in Australia after many newspapers reported that the Australian drug regulator had sent out a letter warning that the prescription weight loss medication Reductil (sibutramine) should not be prescribed any more. The news reports claimed that following the results of a trial called SCOUT, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had written to all Australian doctors saying that prescriptions should not be issued.

Unfortunately many of these news reports were copied by other news agencies without checking properly about the facts. Ukmedix News can confirm that these news reports were incorrect and this has been confirmed by the Australian drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration. What in fact had happened was that the manufacturer and distributor of Reductil in Australia, Abbott Australasia with the full cooperation of the Therapeutic Goods Administration sent out a letter to doctors just before Christmas to update them on minor changes to the Reductil product labeling.

According to a spokesman from Abbott the letter to doctors merely reminded them about the fact that Reductil should not be prescribed to men and women suffering from cardiovascular illnesses or high blood pressure.

At Ukmedix News we believe that the reason why this incorrect news story flooded around the internet in Australia and worldwide was due to an underhand attempt by spammers to try and get individuals to believe that they could no longer be prescribed Reductil and so that they would turn to illegal and potentially dangerous methods of getting fake versions of this drug without a prescription.

Abbott have also pointed out that the majority of the people who took part in the SCOUT clinical study would not have been eligible for a prescription for Reductil because they suffered from heart disease.

Unfortunately, the fact that there’s no truth in the Reductil allegations will not be as reported as widely as the original story.