Reuters AlertNet Lite - N.Korean "Viagra" works, but mind the arsenic

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N.Korean "Viagra" works, but mind the arsenic

23 Oct 2006 09:59:16 GMT
Source: Reuters

SEOUL, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Some herbal supplements popular with South Korean tourists to the North seem to work in boosting men's sexual prowess but have alarmingly high levels of toxic additives, a South Korean MP warned on Monday.

Parliamentarian Chang Bok-sim, who is a certified pharmacist, said some health supplements sold widely at shops in Pyongyang, and in areas in the North frequently visited by South Koreans, contained sildenafil citrate, the same agent used in Pfizer's impotence drug Viagra.

But in a statement, quoting a study she commissioned from South Korea's Food and Drug Administration, Chang said there was a "big problem".

One product, advertised as made from all herb and natural extracts and one of five similar products available in North Korean stores, also contained traces of arsenic and lead.

Another, called "Royal Blood Fresh" which promises to "boost sexual function of men and women" and is popular with South Koreans, was found to have no basis for its claim, she said.

However, it too showed traces of lead and arsenic, she said.

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Last updated:Mon Oct 23 10:01:41 2006