Filipino entertainers warned against black market diet pill

Asian Economic News, Sept 18, 2000

MANILA, Sept. 14 Kyodo

Philippine employment officials warned Filipino entertainers in Japan Thursday against acquiring or using the ''Bangkok pill,'' a popular but illegal diet tablet that has been found to contain harmful ingredients.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Reynaldo Regalado said in a statement that workers found in possession of the drug face prosecution under Japanese law.

The Bangkok pill, which got its name because it is imported into the Philippines from Thailand by black market traders, became a craze in Manila about a year ago.

The health department, however, issued an advisory in September last year saying the drug, which was not registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs, was found to contain harmful ingredients, including pseudo ephedrine, a major ingredient of the stimulant methamphetamine hydrochloride.

Regalado said he has received reports that some Filipino entertainers in Japan ask friends or relatives to send them Bangkok pills to lose weight. Others obtain the pills through courier firms or mail.

Regalado's staff said the POEA warning was prompted by a letter from an association of Japanese promoters to the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo asking that Filipino workers be warned against using or bringing the drug into Japan.

The POEA said it has not heard of any cases of Filipino workers being arrested in Japan for using the drug.

The pill is subject to confiscation in the Philippines, but is sold openly on the black market for about $50 for 200 pills, enough for roughly 28 days.