How do you know your drug is legit? Just use this app

Want to ensure that the medicine or supplement you are taking is legit?

December 29, 2017 Health, Wellness

By TAN SHIOW CHIN

Are your meds legit? Photo: Shutterstock

The first thing you need to do is to check if the product box has the Meditag holographic security label, as well as a unique eight-digit registration number beginning with MAL, and ending with A for controlled drugs, X for over-the-counter drugs. T for traditional medicines and N for nutritional or health supplements.

All pharmaceutical products sold in Malaysia must be registered with the Drug Control Authority, assigned a unique registration number and labelled with the Meditag security label, which is solely produced by Mediharta Sdn Bhd.

But how do you ensure that the security label you see is authentic?

While previously, pharmacies had a Meditag hologram decoder for this purpose, now smartphone users can check the authenticity of their medicines directly themselves via the Meditag Checker app.

This free app allows users to scan the QR code embedded within the fourth and latest version of the Meditag holographic security label on such products to check whether or not they are genuine.

The app also provides direct links to the relevant Health Ministry websites to enable users to find out more information about the product they are scanning, as well as to instantly report any fake products they may detect.

According to Mediharta chairman Datuk Dr Mohd Nordin Mohd Nor, this latest version of Meditag also has individually-coded labels, enabling track-and-trace technology that gives retailers and the authorities the option of keeping track of these products.

Health secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min noted that the Meditag label, launched in 2005, is the first of its kind in the world.

“The use of this security label has increased the effectiveness of enforcement activities,” he said during the launch of the Meditag 4 label at a Kuala Lumpur hotel recently.

“(From January 2016) Until November 2017, as many as 43,207 unregistered products worth RM75,4mil were confiscated.”

According to a directive by Pharmacy Services senior director Dr Salmah Bahri, the use of Meditag 4 was to be implemented as of Oct 12.

However, the Meditag 3 security labels can still be used by manufacturers and importers until their current stock is finished.

The authenticity of Meditag 3 security labels can also be verified via the Meditag Checker app, although this third version does not have the extra layer of security provided by the embedded QR code in Meditag 4 labels.

Step-by-step instructions on how to authenticate the two versions of the security label are detailed within the app.

Dr Chen also noted that the Pharmacy Enforcement Division now has a state-of-the-art cyber forensic lab to enable them to monitor and investigate the online sales of unregistered and counterfeit medicines.

“This lab is on par with cyberlabs owned by other enforcement agencies like Cybersecurity Malaysia, the police and customs,” he said.

https://www.star2.com/health/wellness/2017/12/29/how-do-you-know-your-drug-is-legit-just-use-this-app/

Black tea offers health benefits

For the first time research has shown that like its green tea counterpart, black tea may also have weight loss and health giving benefits thanks to changing bacteria in the gut.

October 15, 2017 Food, Food News, Health, Nutrition

By AGENCY

Tea lovers rejoice, new research shows black tea also has health benefits.

The new animal study, carried out by researchers from UCLA, looked at the intestinal bacteria in mice after being given black or green tea.

In the study, four groups of mice received different diets: low-fat and high-sugar, high-fat and high-sugar, high-fat and high-sugar supplemented with green tea extract, and high-fat and high-sugar supplemented with black tea extract.

After four weeks, the weights of the mice that were given green or black tea extracts dropped to the same levels as the mice receiving a low-fat diet.

The team found that both of the teas changed the ratio of bacteria in the mice, observing that the percentage of bacteria associated with obesity decreased, while bacteria associated with lean body mass increased.

However, only the mice that received black tea extract had an increase in a type of bacteria in the gut called Pseudobutyrivibrio, possibly explaining the difference between how black tea and green tea change energy metabolism.

The study’s lead author Susanne Henning explained that the molecules in green tea are smaller than those in black tea, meaning they can be absorbed into the body and reach the liver directly to change metabolism.

However, because black tea molecules are larger and too big to be absorbed, instead they stay in the intestine where they promote the growth of beneficial bacteria involved in the regulation of energy metabolism.

“It was known that green tea polyphenols are more effective and offer more health benefits than black tea polyphenols since green tea chemicals are absorbed into the blood and tissue,” said Henning, “Our new findings suggest that black tea, through a specific mechanism through the gut microbiome, may also contribute to good health and weight loss in humans.

“The results suggest that both green and black teas are prebiotics, substances that induce the growth of good microorganisms that contribute to a person’s well-being,” she added.

Dr Zhaoping Li, the study’s senior author, said the findings suggest that the health benefits of both green tea and black tea go beyond their antioxidant benefits, and that both teas have a strong impact on the gut microbiome.

“For black tea lovers, there may be a new reason to keep drinking it,” she said.

The findings come after a 2015 UCLA study also found that both green tea and black tea helped prevent obesity in mice consuming a high-fat, high-sugar diet.

The research can be found online published in the European Journal of Nutrition. – AFP Relaxnews

https://www.star2.com/health/2017/10/15/black-tea-also-offers-health-benefits

What happens if you rinse contact lenses with tap water?

Contact lenses should be rubbed with an alcohol solution and then rinsed off with a saline solution – and never with tap water.

February 2, 2018 Health, Wellness

By AGENCY

Tap water can contain germs, so if rinsed with this, bacteria or fungi may get on the contact lenses and then into the wearer's eyes and cause damage.

Tap water can contain germs, so if rinsed with this, bacteria or fungi may get on the lenses and then into the wearer’s eyes and cause damage. That’s why pharmacists are quick to advise against cleaning lenses with water.

For this reason it’s also important to keep contact lenses stored in a solution in a special container.

That solution should be changed out daily, and the contact lenses case is best switched out every four weeks. It’s also a good idea to avoid leaving the case in a sunny spot, which encourages the growth of bacteria. – dpa

https://www.star2.com/health/2018/02/02/rinse-contact-lenses-tap-water/