MFDS and Ministry of Health Joint Inspection of 5 Medical Institutions
Excessive Prescription of Appetite Suppressants, a Controlled Substance, Revealed
Concerns Over Physical and Mental Side Effects of Appetite Suppressants
Clinics that were famous for requiring people to line up before opening hours (open run) to get prescriptions for diet pills have been found to have excessively prescribed narcotic appetite suppressants.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently conducted a joint inspection of five medical institutions that were reported in the media and caused controversy. On the 24th, they announced that all five places had been overprescribing narcotic appetite suppressants.
These clinics are known to have issued prescriptions repeatedly to provide long-term prescriptions of narcotic appetite suppressants. Some clinics even prescribed two types of appetite suppressants together.
Clinics that were famous for requiring people to line up early in the morning before opening hours to get prescriptions for diet pills have been investigated for overprescribing narcotic appetite suppressants. [Image source=Getty Images]
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s standards for preventing narcotic abuse, appetite suppressants such as phentermine, phendimetrazine, amfepramone, and mazindol cannot be prescribed together in two or more types. Even single agents must be prescribed only within three months.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to request expert opinions on the clinics found to be in violation, and if the excessive prescriptions are not medically justified, they will refer the case to the police for investigation. However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that no particular issues related to the National Health Insurance Act were found at these medical institutions.
These appetite suppressants require caution due to various side effects. Narcotic stimulant drugs can cause dependence or tolerance and may lead to various physical and mental side effects.
They enhance appetite suppression by manipulating signals in the brain to reduce the feeling of hunger and stimulating the central nervous system to increase heart rate. However, these appetite suppressants are highly addictive and accompanied by side effects such as dry mouth even when drinking water continuously and difficulty falling asleep.
Additionally, dizziness, palpitations, anxiety, and nervousness may occur, and long-term use can cause depression, personality changes, dependence, and pulmonary arterial hypertension.
In March, a woman in her 20s in Jeju-do was arrested by the police for crashing into six vehicles consecutively. Although she was not intoxicated, investigations revealed that she had been taking appetite suppressants long-term, sparking controversy over the side effects of stimulant drugs.
Previously, a broadcast reported scenes of people sleeping outdoors from early morning to get prescriptions for appetite suppressants at these medical institutions, which were rumored to be good at treating obesity.
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