No Wonder Chinese ED Pills Work Redux

The FDA reports today that more than $100,000 worth of nonprescription Chinese "natural supplements" for erectile dysfunction were seized because they contain sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, or a sildenafil analog. The seized products—Shangai Regular, Shangai Ultra, Super Shangai, Naturalë Super Plus, and Lady Shangai—originated in China and were packaged and distributed by a company in Puerto Rico.

Prompted by a consumer complaint, the FDA conducted an inspection of the Puerto Rico distributor in November 2007, at which time the products' active ingredients were discovered; however, the products' labels did not list sildenafil or the sildenafil analog. An FDA press release in December advised consumers not to purchase the drugs, which were embargoed by the Puerto Rico Department of Health before the seizure.

On February 15, The Netherlands Health Care Inspectorate reported its identification of large doses of tadalafil (Cialis), vardenafil (Levitra) and acetildenafil (an analog of sildenafil) in imported Chinese "herbal" impotence pills. Since 2003, the FDA has recalled a number of nonprescription sex-enhancement pills because they contained undeclared tadalafil, vardenafil, sildenafil, or chemical analogs.