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Foreign product alert

Dietary supplements for sexual enhancement

Starting date:: September 20, 2010
Posting date:: September 20, 2010
Type of communication:: Foreign Product Alert (FPA)
Subcategory:: Natural health products
Source of recall:: Health Canada
Issue:: Undeclared Substance, Product Safety
Audience:: General Public
Identification number:: RA-120001278

Images

These products are not authorized for sale in Canada and have not been found in the Canadian marketplace, but it is possible they may have been brought into the country by travellers or purchased over the Internet.

Source of Alert

Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Product Names

Golden aryuru
Baisheng wei ge
Zhonghua niubian
Ten ka dai 1 bou
Kuai gan bei zeng chao yue zi wo (Happy felling doubly increase [sic])
Ling tou lang
SkyFruit
Chu bi ho ken
Suika Koso
Lov
I ka ou (2009 nen sin hoso) and/or I ka ou (saisinsui shutsu hoso)

Manufacturer / Place of Origin

Unknown

Product Description

These 12 products are promoted as dietary supplements used for sexual enhancement.

Reason for Warning

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare warned consumers not to buy or use the 12 products listed above because they were found to contain undeclared sildenafil and/or other unauthorized substances similar to sildenafil that may pose similar health risks (norhongdenafil, acetil acid, and tioqinapiperifil). Sildenafil is a prescription drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and should only be taken under the supervision of a health care practitioner.

Possible Side-Effects

Sildenafil should not be used by individuals taking any kind of nitrate drug (e.g. nitroglycerine) as it can cause potentially life-threatening low blood pressure. Individuals with heart problems are at increased risk of cardiovascular side-effects such as heart attack, stroke, chest pain, high blood pressure and abnormal heart beat. Other side-effects include headache, facial flushing, indigestion, dizziness, abnormal vision, and hearing loss.

What you should do

Canadians who have this product are advised not to use it, and should consult with a health care professional if they have concerns about their health related to the use of this product.

Health Canada advises Canadians to contact the Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate at 1-800-267-9675 if they find the product listed above in the Canadian marketplace.

Background

Drugs and natural health products that are authorized for sale in Canada will have either an eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN), a Natural Product Number (NPN) or a Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM) on the label. These numbers indicate that the products have been assessed by Health Canada for safety, effectiveness and quality.

As of the date of this posting, no adverse reactions suspected to be associated with the use of this product have been reported in Canada.

Report a health or safety concern

Call toll-free at 1-866-234-2345
Visit Health Canada's Web page on Adverse Reaction Reporting for information on how to report online, by mail or by fax