Dangerous Diet Pill Still on Sale: ACU

Khmer Time/ Ven Rathavong

Thursday, 04 February 2016

Health Minister Mam Bunheng responded to the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) after it received an anonymous complaint that the diet pill MAZETA Slim, which is unlicensed in Cambodia and therefore illegal to sell, is still being distributed by pharmacies around the Kingdom. According to ministry tests, the product contains chemicals that carry harmful side-effects.
 

According to the ACU’s letter published yesterday, that complaint requested the Health Ministry begin an investigation into the sale of MAZETA Slim, to which the ministry has responded by checking the availability of the drug at a pharmacy level. 
 

Mr. Bunheng said that his ministry recently bought MAZETA Slim from two pharmacies in Phnom Penh, and sent it to a laboratory in Japan for testing. 
 

Results reported by Mr. Bunheng said traces of the chemical Sibutramine were found in the pill, which he said made them a danger to public health. 
 

Sibutramine is a common substance found in diet pills that acts in effect like an amphetamine. It has been linked to heart attacks and strokes, and has been banned for sale in the US, the EU, China, New Zealand and elsewhere around the world. Sibutramine and exercise. 
 

“The ministry released a statement to stop using, distributing, and collecting all kinds of medicine which had this Sibutramine substance since December 1, 2010,” Mr. Bunheng said. 
 

He added that the ministry fined and warned the two pharmacies that sold his associates the MAZETA Slim packages.
 

Last December, Mr. Bunheng released a statement demanding a stop to all sales of the diet pill in Cambodia. Pharmacies would be punished if found in violation. Head of the ACU Om Yentieng said Mr. Bunheng’s organization has been active in responding to ACU complaints.
 

“We recognized that the minister seems not to be bored of checking and responding to complaints,” he said.