Dubious ingredients in many, study reveals
BEWARE the dodgy sex drugs that can be bought in the back lanes of red-light areas here.
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) says that if they do not kill, they could maim or leave a man with an erection so prolonged that gangrene kicks in.
Its conclusions come from a recent study of more than 175 samples of illegal sex drugs seized during raids over a one-month period in 2008.
HSA officers made a staggering haul of more than 200 types of pills, creams and lotions marketed in back lanes as sex-enhancement “health” products.
HSA researchers and those from the National University of Singapore found in these drugs exceedingly high levels of the active ingredient in Viagra, ordinarily available only by a doctor’s prescription; they also found glibenclamide, a drug used to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics and not even known to improve sexual performance.
The study, the findings of which were published last December, is the first in-depth research following a slew of deaths linked to the consumption of such drugs in 2008. The 10 who died were men aged 35 to 84 whose blood pressures had plummeted.
Several others fell into comas. They may have escaped death, but they have not recovered fully either, said HSA’s enforcement division director, Ms Chan Cheng Leng.
Between them, they had consumed Power 1 Walnut, Zhong Hua Niu Nian, Santi Bovine Penis Erecting Capsule, and counterfeit Cialis – like Viagra, also a prescription drug.
Following the deaths, HSA stepped up its number of raids, from about two a year to 80 that year and last year.
About 1.4 million units of such drugs, amounting to $3.5 million in street value, were seized; the dragnet also snared 50 individuals caught peddling the drugs.
Three have been convicted this year. Between February and March 2008, HSA officers descended on the back lanes of two red-light
areas, Desker Road and Petain Road. There, apart from the drugs that had killed the men, they found other products bearing names like Africa Black Ant and Real Man.
They also seized counterfeit versions of approved prescription sex drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. Their price tags would have raised a red flag: The real drugs cost about $20 a pill, but these imitations were going for $2; other “non-branded” items cost as little as $1.
The study noted that many of the drugs were being hawked as herbal supplements or “natural” alternatives. Yes, some may have contained herbs, but they also contained other unknown ingredients.
Of the 175 types of illegal drugs sampled, 134 were tainted. And of the 134, eight in 10 were found to contain sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, most in far bigger doses than was safe.
Doctors will not usually prescribe more than 100mg of sildenafil a day; 65 of the drug samples were found to contain more than this in a single dose.
The study said the generous dash of sildenafil could have come from its being easily available and cheap, and dishonest manufacturers thinking that more of it made the drug work better.
Researchers behind the study also believe manufacturing error could have led to glibenclamide being added.
Other signs of the dubious quality of these drugs were the absence of manufacturing dates and thin information on dosage, possible side effects and possible interactions with other drugs.
Only some advised consumers to consult a doctor before use; some even recommended drinking copious amounts of water if side effects arose.
Manufacturers can be held accountable if consumers come to any harm, but this is only if they can be found: The addresses of these drug factories often do not exist.
Since the deaths in 2008, the number of adverse drug reports following the use of illegal sex drugs has gone down from a high of 240 to 77 last year; four reports came in the first two months this year.
HSA’s Ms Chan said: “I hear from people that as long as you don’t take the Power 1 Walnut, you’re safe. Our message is, ‘It’s not just Power 1 Walnut, you should not tempt fate’. What you see may not be what you are going to get.”