10 people, including 3 children, reported serious side effects from illegal health products in 2022: HSA

SINGAPORE — Ten people, including three children, reported “serious adverse effects or unusually quick effects” after consuming or using adulterated products in 2022, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said on Monday (Feb 20).

One of the children has yet to be discharged from hospital due to his condition, the authority said in a press release outlining its efforts to curb the sale and supply of illegal health products last year. 

The cases were reported through doctors or directly to HSA.

The authority added that these products were either bought online, in Singapore from a makeshift stall, or from overseas through friends or relatives and were marketed to meet various health and lifestyle needs.

Last year, HSA issued alerts on 12 illegal health products such as diaper rash creams, pain relief medication and a slimming supplement. 

These products included unregistered or counterfeit ones, and those with potent medicinal ingredients or banned substances illegally added to them.

Ingredients such as dexamethasone and clobetasol propionate — both potent steroids — and the banned weight-loss drug sibutramine, were detected. 

'LONG RECOVERY TIME'

One such product was a diaper rash cream called Star Cream, which caused steroid toxicity to a four-month-old baby and landed him in hospital last June. 

He had experienced serious adverse effects such as persistent vomiting, abnormal eye alignment, and a bulging fontanelle — the soft spot on top of a baby’s skull — and took a long time to recover from them.

The parents of the infant, who had bought the product online, said: "It was a nightmare that no parent would want their child to go through. It was only a very short period of four months of use, but to recover from its consequence requires a much longer time.

"Even after close to one year, our son has yet to be discharged from his condition.”

Last December, a four-year-old developed symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome, a disorder that occurs when the body makes too much of the hormone cortisol over a long period of time, after a skin cream called Tao Ju Hui Yi Mei Li Shang Kou Hu Li Ruan Gao was used on him regularly for a rash over a period of four months. 

He developed a round or "moon" face, excessive hair growth on the body and thinning of skin. 

In another case last November, a woman in her 60s had taken "Shu Jin" capsules regularly over 10 years for joint pain. She was hospitalised and diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency — a rare condition when the body does not make enough of certain hormones — and osteoporosis. 

'HEIGHTENED SURVEILLANCE'

HSA said that in 2022, it continued to "heighten surveillance" on illegal health products sold on e-commerce and social media platforms in Singapore, as well as hot spots such as Geylang.

More than 737,000 units of illegal health products worth S$640,000 in street value were seized through enforcement raids and covert purchases last year, it added.

This was about S$200,000 higher than the total value of products seized in 2021 and was due to the increased enforcement operations against illegal suppliers at hot-spot areas.

The most common products seized last year were:

• Codeine cough syrups (46 per cent)
• Sexual enhancement or male vitality products (39 per cent) 
• Sedatives (9 per cent)

The seized cough syrups and sedatives had been intended for sale to recreational abusers, HSA said. 

On e-commerce and social media platforms here, the most common product listings detected and removed were those for lifestyle products such as:

• Sexual enhancement or male vitality products (55 per cent)
• Topical products marketed for allergies or eczema (43 per cent)
• Pain relief products (1 per cent)
• Weight loss products (1 per cent)

Last year, HSA removed 477 online listings of illegal health products and issued 192 warnings to sellers.

The number of removed listings in 2022 fell by about half of that in 2021 after efforts were made to work closely with platforms to promptly remove listings and educate sellers on the regulations for sale, HSA said. 

"Illegal health products are a threat to public health and safety. As long as there is demand, they will continue to be sold and may resurface under different names or packaging to evade detection by the authorities."

HSA advised consumers to: 

• Avoid making purchases from suspicious or unfamiliar sources
• Beware of deals that sound too attractive
• Check the advertised claims and product testimonies
• Discuss with their doctor or pharmacist the suitability of a product

Sellers and suppliers of such products could face a fine of up to S$100,000 or be jailed up to three years, or both, if convicted.

In the last three years, 44 people have been prosecuted for the sale and supply of such products, the authority said.