Ministry to ask FDA to review ‘medicine’ drinks
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Ministry of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) yesterday said he would ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss whether beverages such as Paolyta B (保力達B) and Sanyo Whisbih (維士比), which contain alcohol and are categorized as over-the-counter (OTC) medicine, should be recategorized.
Radiation oncologist Skye Hung-chun Cheng (鄭鴻鈞) on Sunday wrote on Threads that the consumption of Paolyta B and Whisbih, which are marketed as “OTC medicines,” have become widespread among blue-collar workers.
However, they have an alcohol content up to 10 percent, which is more than double that found in most beer products in Taiwan, he said, adding that no doctor would prescribe a beverage with 10 percent alcohol to help someone feel “refreshed and invigorated.”
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang is pictured in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
The drinks — which some mix with rice wine, coffee or tea — increase the user’s risk of developing oral cancer, esophageal cancer and liver cirrhosis, as well as the risk of serious workplace accidents caused by alcohol impairment, Cheng said.
Asked about the post on the sidelines of an event, Shih said that Paolyta B has applied for a drug license, as it contains traditional Chinese medicine and conventional medicine.
Nevertheless, he said he would ask the FDA to further discuss whether the products’ drug license should be revoked.
He would also ask the FDA to bolster its public health promotion efforts and remind people of the products’ alcohol content, and that people should not consume it as an energy drink when driving or working, he said.
In his post, Cheng wrote that medical studies have shown that acetaldehyde associated with alcoholic beverage consumption is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, as it caused increased risk of fatty liver, hepatitis and cirrhosis.
Studies also link long-term heavy drinking to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a type of cancer that begins in the bile ducts inside the liver, he added.
In one of his posts on Sunday, titled “a public letter to the minister of health and welfare,” Cheng said that the drinks are harming public health, but are ignored by the government.
Nearly half of Taiwanese lack the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 enzyme, and so they cannot metabolize acetaldehyde, a Group 1 carcinogen, he said.
Cheng urged the health minister to revoke the drug license for the products, so that they can be regulated and taxed according to the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act (菸酒管理法) as alcoholic beverages.
He also urged Shih to order the FDA and local health departments to inspect betel nut stands, snack bars and grocery stores that sell the drinks, which as “OTC medicines” under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法) can only be sold by licensed pharmacies and pharmacists.
Shih said that local health departments already inspect retailers to ensure they comply with the law.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.