The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have issued a warning targeted at anybody considering purchasing unlicensed herbal products via the internet. The UK medicine’s regulator have said there is an increase in the risk of cancer when using these types of products, in particularly with the slimming and erectile dysfunction products. The MHRA claim that experiments carried out by Austrian and Danish experts, uncovered traces of former prescription only medicine ingredients inside the herbal products. Phenolphthalein and sibutramine were discovered within the slimming ‘herbal’ products, which are both now prohibited in the UK’s market due to widespread fear they are highly dangerous. Obviously if somebody with certain underlying health conditions were to take these products unknowingly, it could potentially prove fatal. Phenolphthalein was previously used as a laxative agent and is now forbidden for use after cancer risks were associated with it. Sibutramine, which was the compound previously used in the diet pills ‘Meridia’, has also been banned after clinical trials revealed an increased risk of heart attack and strokes among those who were taking the obesity drug. The tests also found traces of sildenafil and tadalafil inside the supposed ‘herbal’ erectile dysfunction goods. These are the active ingredients in the massively popular impotence drugs Viagra and Cialis respectively. Both Viagra and Cialis are prescription only medicines and any potential user of these require necessary health checks from Doctors in order to deem suitability and assess any health risks there could be. At Medical Specialists Pharmacy, we are immensely proud of our team of in-house GMC registered Doctors. They carefully check each consultation before they create any prescription, ensuring all our patient’s health are kept as the top priority. The medications we provide for male impotence can be obtained with or without a private prescription, and pending approval from one of our registered Doctors, can arrive to you within a mere 24 hours. Head of MHRA’s Herbal Policy, Richard Woodfield, had this to say on the latest findings: “Consumers should be aware of the risks with unlicensed medicines and especially those available online. Medicines for erectile dysfunction are only available following consultation with a doctor and consumers should always seek medical advice.” “Some licensed herbal medicines are available as aids to slimming; these will have product licenses or traditional herbal registrations. Patients can identify authorised herbal products by the THR symbol or the product license number.” He further added, “The THR scheme has been implemented to ensure patients can buy herbal products that they know have met quality and safety standards. If people think they have suffered a side effect to an unlicensed herbal medicine, they can report it to us via our Yellow Card Scheme.”