Deaths linked to Chinese supplements
Chinese diet supplements, including three people who have died as a
result of taking the pills.
Ninety-three people in Japan have suffered adverse reactions from Chinese diet supplements, including three people who have died as a result of taking the pills.
The 83 women and ten men taking the pills, which are sold under the Yuzhitang and Xianzhisu brands, suffered liver damage, according to a statement from the Japanese Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry.
The Ministry added that a fourth death - that of a woman in her 60s - was thought to be linked to the supplements, but that it was still uncertain whether there was a direct link with the diet pills.
The woman is known to have bought Yuzhitang through an import agency in February, and started complaining of ill health about one month after taking the diet aids, but it is still too early to say whether they were the direct cause of her death, officials said.
The Japanese government has pledged to clamp down on the unrestricted sale of health food products until more is known about their side effects.
