Dangerous contraceptives from China found on free sale in Russia

Female contraceptive pills from China, which are already banned in some countries and do not have state registration in Russia, are freely sold online without a prescription, Izvestia found out.

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The contraceptive Levonorgestrel and Quinestrol Tablets manufactured by Zizhu Pharmaceutical contains extremely high doses of hormones, which leads to the risk of serious diseases, doctors said.

An examination conducted by the International Association "Anti-Counterfeit" commissioned by Izvestia showed that the composition of the tablets did not match the declared one, and there were numerous signs of falsification. According to the examination protocol, the tablets purchased on the Internet do contain the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel, said the head of the project "Don't take any chances! Check it out" by Sergey Zelenets.

"However, in the Chinese tablets that we examined, levonorgestrel is 3.5 times less than stated on the official website — 6 mg is indicated there," the expert noted.

The main violation that the examination revealed was that the drug from the manufacturer Zizhu Pharmaceutical was not registered in the State Register of Medicines, Sergey Zelenets told Izvestia.

"In addition, the products have signs of adulteration, as they do not match the declared composition. And the type of packaging does not match the photo posted on the manufacturer's website," the expert said.

The admission scheme in the product card is not indicated according to the standards of clinical recommendations in the territory of the Russian Federation, said Julia Botsula, gynecologist-endocrinologist, doctor of interdisciplinary anti-aging medicine at Expert Clinics (Moscow).

"In no case should such drugs be taken on an ongoing basis, because they suppress ovulation by a merciless method. This may affect the reproductive function in the future. Harm to health will definitely be inflicted. Hormonal drugs are metabolized in the body through the liver, and if there are undetected problems with this organ, taking such a drug can cause toxic effects and cause medicinal hepatitis," the doctor said.

And since the drug is not registered in Russia, it may contain impurities of any other components, for example, heavy metals, which can also have a toxic effect.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

They are stray: dangerous contraceptives from China are freely sold in Russia