More than 800 illegal health product listings removed from online sale platforms in virtual raid
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) removed more than 800 listings of illegal health products from e-commerce sites and social media platforms such as Shopee, Carousell and Facebook.
Products such as unregistered anti-diabetic medicines, sexual enhancement products, hair loss treatments and others were taken down between June 23 and 30, HSA said in a statement on Wednesday (July 20).
The products removed had not been evaluated and approved by the authority and may be unsafe for consumption.
Unauthorised blood glucose monitoring devices were also removed as unauthorised measurement devices can give inaccurate measurements, causing a patient to take an incorrect dose of medication, said HSA.
HSA tested the unauthorised sexual enhancement drugs listed on the e-commerce and social media platforms, and found that they contain tadalafil, a prescription medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction.
HSA said that the inappropriate use of tadalafil is dangerous and can increase the risk of heart attacks, stroke, palpitations, irregular heart rate and priapism, which is the painful, prolonged erection of the penis.
The sellers of the illegal products were issued warnings and told to comply with regulatory requirements.
The virtual raid is part of Operation Pangea, an annual effort by Interpol to clamp down on the online sale of illicit and counterfeit health products.
HSA has participated in this global week of action coordinated by Interpol for 15 consecutive years.
This year, 94 countries took part in the operation.
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