The Taiwanese Department of Health has recently released a warning that a health product called Qualicana that was registered in Hong Kong only for the treatment of specific thyroid problems has been advertised in Taiwan as a diet supplement. This is highly illegal and the the Hong Kong Health Department has revoked the licence for the selling of this treatment and has asked anyone who has bought it to dispose of it immediately and seek medical check ups if they feel unwell.

The problem of illegal and often dangerous diet pills is a big one in Asia. Very often the mediactiosn are sold in the form of a tea that make it look natural and not harmful but infact they often contain prescription only substances like sibutramine (found in Reductil) and orlistat (found in Xenical).

The Department of Health in its statement said that only the prescription drugs Reductil (known as Meridia in the US) and Xenical are allowed to be sold as diet pills in all of Taiwan and both drugs require a doctors prescription and a full understanding of the side effects before use of them. Reductil is a very effective appetite surpressant that acts on the nervous system, lowering the adrenalin that makes patients feel full. It does have a few side effcts that need to be recognised like constipation, high blood pressure and even insomnia.

Xenical works in acompletely different way by blocking the lipase in the intestines which stops around 30% of fat consumed from going into body. This however has its problems as the fat has to be excreted and this can cause diarrhea and loose stools. Both these drugs are not a quick fix but a help to obese people who are serious about losing weight and whose weight is getting dangerously high.

Ukmedix sells both Reductil and Xenical and takes its responsibilities concerning prescriptions and medical advice very seriously. Ukmedix advises not to use unlicenced diet drugs or even traditional supplements as very often they are not what they seem.