They are stray: dangerous contraceptives from China are freely sold 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. The Levonorgestrel and Quinestrol Tablets contraceptive manufactured by Zizhu Pharmaceutical contains extremely high doses of hormones, which leads to the risk of serious diseases, and "harm to health will definitely be caused," the doctors said. The examination, conducted by order of Izvestia, showed that the composition of the tablets, which are illegally sold in the Russian Federation, does not correspond to the stated, there are other signs of falsification. Roszdavnadzor, after a request from the editorial board, promised that sales of this drug would be blocked. Who sells illegal contraceptives on the Internet and how, and what is the threat of taking them, is in the investigation of Izvestia.
Easy purchase of Chinese contraceptives
Unregistered Chinese contraceptive pills for women in Russia, which show signs of counterfeiting, are freely sold on the Internet, Izvestia found out during its own investigation. Five pink pills can be purchased remotely without any prescription at a price from 750 to 1 thousand rubles. The pink and white packaging is designed in Chinese (there is no Russian or English translation).
The product cards posted by various suppliers on the Web do not contain the name of the drug, manufacturer information, or the exact composition of the tablets. But it says that the drug contains "natural ingredients" and "natural remedies", however, which ones are not said. At the same time, the product specifications indicate that this is a "long-acting contraceptive" that guarantees "full-fledged and high-quality protection against unwanted pregnancy."
There are more questions than reviews on the forum under the drug card: customers are interested in how the pills work and whether they accurately prevent pregnancy. And the seller replies that "the drug is Chinese, original, non-hormonal, does not affect health, does not give side effects, and if you do everything according to the instructions, it helps in 100% of cases." And he immediately reports that "combined oral contraceptives contain two synthetic hormones: estrogen and progestin (progesterone)."
Customers who have already allegedly tried the medicine say that it "works" and thank the seller. One of the women asks if the pills will be given to a 17-year-old child at the pick-up point. "Yes, of course," the seller replies.
Izvestia turned to the international Anti-Counterfeit Association for clarification. They bought these contraceptives there and gave them for examination.
What the examination showed
Izvestia managed to find out who produces the drug and even what its full name is, only by purchasing a package. As the examination showed, the drug Levonorgestrel and Quinestrol Tablets (Levonorgestrel and Quinestrol) The Chinese brand Aiyue, manufactured by Zizhu Pharmaceutical, contains the synthetic hormones levonorgestrel and quinestrol (in Russian, ethinyl estradiol). The packaging looks different on the seller's official website, but the hieroglyphs and the registration number (Chinese) H11021378 match.
The manufacturer's official website also says that "the product is a compound drug, each tablet contains 6 mg of levonorgestrel and 3 mg of quinestrol": "This product can suppress ovulation and is a long-acting oral contraceptive for women."
The main violation revealed by the examination was that the drug produced by Zizhu Pharmaceutical was not registered in the State Register of Medicines, the head of the "Don't take any chances! Check it out" by Sergey Zelenets.
— In addition, the products have signs of counterfeiting, as they do not match the declared composition, — said the expert. — And the type of packaging does not match the photo posted on the manufacturer's website. Also, according to the law "On the Circulation of Medicines", medicines can be released into civil circulation in packages with only a text in Russian.
The dosage of levonorgestrel hormone (6 mg) claimed in the Chinese contraceptive is extremely high, Julia Botsula, gynecologist-endocrinologist, doctor of interdisciplinary anti-aging medicine at Expert Clinics (Moscow), told Izvestia. The usual dosage of this hormone in emergency contraceptive products is from 1.5 to 3 mg.
— The reception scheme in the product card is not indicated according to the standards of clinical recommendations in the territory of the Russian Federation, — she noted. — In no case should you take such drugs 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 drug—induced 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.
— Also, contraceptives in high doses cause bile thickening, that is, they increase the risk of developing gallstone disease, — Yulia Botsula warned. — And in some cases, they can lead to the development of mastopathy, adenomas, fibroids, endometriosis, and even cancer. In addition, synthetic estrogens thicken the blood and can lead to venous thrombosis and thromboembolism.
Taking a questionable contraceptive also affects the functioning of the thyroid gland, which can lead to hypothyroidism. There is an imbalance in the work of all hormones in the body, the doctor noted.
The only "positive" moment, so to speak, that the examination revealed was that the purchased medicines did not contain those "horse" doses of hormones that were declared by the official manufacturer.
According to the examination protocol, the tablets purchased on the Internet do contain the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel, said 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 second declared hormone, 3 mg of quinestrol (ethinyl estradiol)— was completely absent from the tablets. On the one hand, taking these pills specifically in this case would reduce the risk of negative similar effects from an overdose of hormones. On the other hand, this is another argument that counterfeit products are being supplied to Russia, produced by no one knows where, by no one knows by whom, and not the original drug.
Before taking any hormonal medications, a woman needs to undergo an examination. This is a biochemical blood test (it will show how the liver works) and an analysis of the blood coagulation system (as one of the markers of the risk of thrombosis).
Izvestia sent a request to Zizhu Pharmaceutical with a request to comment on the results of the examination. In addition, the publication asked if the company was aware of the illegal sale of the drug in Russia.
Who sells the drug
According to the product cards, hormonal contraceptives AIYUE are sold by entrepreneurs from Kyrgyzstan Gennady Alekseevich Slepukhin and Olesya Gennadievna Provotorova (Slepukhina). The main activity is transportation and clothing trade.
Retail sale of prescription drugs remotely in Russia was previously completely prohibited. However, from March 1, 2023 to March 1, 2026, an experiment is being conducted in Moscow, the Moscow and Belgorod regions to allow remote retail of prescription drugs, including contraceptives, Oleg Pavlov, chairman of the Public Consumer Initiative (OPI), reminded Izvestia. To participate in the experiment, a medical or pharmacy organization must connect to the state information system in the field of healthcare EMIAS.
— In addition, regardless of the method of selling medicines, every participant in their turnover must be connected to the federal state information system for monitoring the movement of medicines (FGIS MDLP), — said the expert.
However, there is no data on the participation of sellers of Chinese contraceptives in the experiment on the remote retail sale of medicines in the FGIS MDLP.
"The revealed facts of over—the-counter sales of hormonal contraceptives indicate that the mechanisms of control of online platforms for suppliers and products are not well established," Oleg Pavlov believes.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health of the Philippines warned citizens about this drug in 2022. His specialists asked citizens not to buy medicines unregistered in their country, including Levonorgestrel and Quinestrol with a similar Chinese registration number.
In October 2022, the Uganda National Drug Control Authority banned the use of Levonorgestrel and Quinestrol due to its side effects. In an article published in the women's magazine Her Story, it was reported that a woman died from these birth control pills — a blood clot formed in her lungs. The article is called: "A woman falls and dies while Uganda is fighting against illegal birth control pills."
"It was found that the pill contains high doses of hormones exceeding the recommended dosage. The risks associated with the use of this product include, among others, prolonged bleeding, rapid heartbeat, the possibility of blood clots and heart disease, abnormal thickening of the endometrium (proliferation of glands of the uterine mucosa. — Ed.). They can be the cause of endometrial cancer and infertility," the National Office of Uganda said in a statement.
How to control sales of such drugs
One of the most alarming trends in online commerce is the almost uncontrolled sale of medically significant or near-medical goods, said Alexander Nosenko, head of the Center for the Protection of Copyright Holders of the International Anti—Counterfeit Association. Such goods are often imported from abroad, bypassing established safety assessment procedures, he said.
"According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation and the Customs Union, any product that affects reproductive function is subject to mandatory registration as a medicinal product and must undergo state registration with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation," the expert recalled. — Information about registered medicines is entered in the State Register of Medicines. Before being included in the registry, medicines undergo the necessary laboratory and clinical trials. The lack of registration information in the registry means that the product has not been registered and has not been tested for safety.
Online platforms need to build more effective filters for the admission of medical or border goods, the expert believes.
Over the past five years, starting in September 2020, according to Roszdravnadzor, Roskomnadzor has blocked almost 106 thousand Internet resources that remotely sold prescription drugs, Roszdravnadzor (RZN) told Izvestia. Among them are psychoactive drugs that cause drug dependence.
The main reasons for the blocking were the lack of a license to carry out pharmaceutical activities or a permit for remote trading, the supervisory authority said.
"Roszdravnadzor, together with the Association of Internet Commerce Companies (AKIT), which includes the largest marketplaces (Ozon, Wildberries, Yandex, Megamarket, etc.), has created a Telegram channel. Information about the sale of medicines, the sale of which is limited or prohibited, is promptly transmitted there. This allows you to quickly block sellers selling such drugs. For example, only on one of the Internet sites, as a result of such cooperation, 279 cards with an offer to sell prescription drugs were blocked," the response to a request from Izvestia says.
RZN transmitted information about unregistered Chinese contraceptives, the illegal sale of which was revealed by Izvestia, to the AKIT-Roszdravnadzor Telegram channel for the prompt removal of prohibited content, the agency said.
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