Singapore, Sep 07, 2010: Taiwan's Department of Health (DoH) will hold a special committee in two weeks, to decide whether they will move to have Meridia, a controversial diet pill, taken off the local market after a study in the US indicates the drug may cause severe heart attack and stroke.
"We will hold an evaluation committee meeting on Sep 16, to discuss how the drugs have been used in Taiwan, before we make a final decision on how to deal with the matter," said Mr Tai Hsueh-yung, section chief of the Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs under the DoH.
Tai's comment comes after a report published earlier this week in the US New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), revealed that patients who took Merdia were vulnerable to heart attacks and strokes, especially those who already had a cardiac problem.
In the study, researchers analyzed nearly 11,000 obese or overweight people, aged 55 years or older, with preexisting cardiovascular disease for a period of about 3.5 years. It found that for people who took Meridia, the risk of heart attack increased 28 percent, and the risk of stroke increased 36 percent.
Local doctors are urging patients with cardiovascular disease not to use the prescription diet drug. Doctors have said those who wish to take the drug for weight-losing should consult their doctors first.
Meridia contains Sibutramine, which is recommended for the management of obesity, including weight loss and maintenance of weight loss.
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