Chinese herbal pills destroyed UK woman's health

More Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

A Chinese herbal practitioner admitted on Wednesday selling dangerous pills which destroyed the health of a British woman, leading to calls for the tighter regulation of those selling alternative medicines.

Civil servant Patricia Booth, 58, took tiny brown "Xie Gan Wan" tablets for more than five years to treat a facial skin condition after being reassured that the pills were as safe as Coca-Cola.

The medicine, sold by Ying "Susan" Wu from a shop in Chelmsford, northeast of London, did clear up her skin but had disastrous consequences, the capital's Old Bailey court heard.

Months after she stopped taking the pills in 2003, she fell seriously ill, had to have her kidneys removed, contracted urinary tract cancer and later had a heart attack.

She had to quit her job managing a government office and now needs to go to hospital for dialysis three times a week.

When it was realised the pills were likely to be behind Booth's declining health, officers from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) visited the Chinese Herbal Medical Centre shop in July 2003 where Wu worked.

Wu, 48, told them she was a qualified doctor in China, but not in Britain.

Well, they cannot replace her kidney with TCM, but at least she can get a deer penis.