Narcotic Diet Pills Missing from Animal Hospital... MFDS Management Lapses

An animal hospital named A located in Gyeongbuk received a total of 300 appetite suppressants between 2018 and 2019. However, when Hospital A closed down, a total of 320 narcotics, including propofol and the appetite suppressants it had in stock, mysteriously disappeared. After closing Hospital A, the animal hospital opened Hospital B in Gimcheon. It was confirmed that the director of this animal hospital was completely unaware of the whereabouts of the narcotics that disappeared when Hospital A closed. The director of the animal hospital received a total of 3,420 narcotics, including appetite suppressants and propofol, from 2019 to 2020 at the newly opened Hospital B. However, there are no prescription records, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is currently investigating.

It was found that more than 70% of the 1,008 appetite suppressants delivered to animal hospitals are unaccounted for.

On the 12th, Kim Young-joo, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, received data on narcotics delivery and prescription status at animal hospitals nationwide over the past five years from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The data showed that appetite suppressants (diet drugs) prescribed to humans, commonly called 'Nabi-yak,' were delivered and prescribed at some animal hospitals. It was confirmed that large quantities of appetite suppressants and propofol, among other narcotics, disappeared from some animal hospitals that received these narcotic appetite suppressants.

Kim Young-joo’s investigation tracking a total of 1,008 appetite suppressants delivered to these animal hospitals found that the whereabouts of 708 (70.2%) of the appetite suppressants could not be confirmed. Among the seven animal hospitals that received these narcotic appetite suppressants, four did not prescribe them despite their expiration dates being near or passed. There was also an incident where all narcotics held by a closed animal hospital disappeared.

According to the 'Narcotics Control Act,' when administering psychotropic drugs classified as narcotics, the personal information of the animal owner, including their resident registration number, must be reported to the Minister of Food and Drug Safety. Additionally, when an animal hospital closes, it must notify the licensing authority (local government), dispose of the narcotics it holds through the local health center, and the licensing authority must report this to the Minister of Food and Drug Safety.

Assembly member Kim Young-joo pointed out, "The fact that animal hospitals received and prescribed narcotic appetite suppressants intended for human use alone warrants an investigation by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety into these animal hospitals. Furthermore, the appetite suppressants nearing or past their expiration dates that should have been reported for disposal, as well as those that disappeared due to the closure of animal hospitals, clearly reveal the Ministry’s inadequate narcotics management and supervision system."

She added, "The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety needs to carefully review whether these prescriptions were appropriate and comprehensively consider the health conditions of the animals involved."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.