A popular weight-loss medicine is being withdrawn from sale because it has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, mostly in patients known to have cardiovascular disease.
The withdrawal is despite the fact that under its New Zealand licence, the drug is not supposed to be prescribed
to people with a history of cardiovascular disease.
Pharmaceutical company Abbott said it had decided, in consultation with regulators in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Canada, to stop selling Reductil. Abbott suggested patients who have been using the drug should see their doctor to discuss other ways to lose weight.
It advises doctors to stop prescribing the drug and pharmacists to cease dispensing it.
The Health Ministry said yesterday the Medicines Adverse Reactions Committee, which advises Health Minister Tony Ryall, had recommended Reductil's licence be revoked.
This follows reviews of the safety of the drug and its active ingredient, sibutramine, by the committee and the ministry's Medsafe unit.
"We have concluded that the risks of using sibutramine outweigh any benefit from the very modest weight loss observed when using the medicine," said Medsafe's principal clinical adviser, Dr Enver Yousuf.
No figures are available on the number of New Zealand patients using Reductil, but an Otago University study published in June said it was prescribed to 17,000 patients, mainly women, in the three years from 2001.
