Drug alert: People should not buy or use slimming product Linglong which can harm health.

The Department of Health has urged people not to buy or use slimming product Linglong which contains undeclared drug ingredients sibutramine and phenolphthalein that can cause serious side effects.

A 32-year-old woman who took the product, bought in Shenzhen, suffered mood swings December 13. She was admitted to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and discharged December 23.

Sibutramine is a Western medicine used as appetite suppressant under close medical supervision. Its side effects include increased blood pressure and heart rate, psychosis and convulsions.

It must be registered with the Pharmacy & Poisons Board and can be sold only on a doctor's prescription and under a pharmacist's supervision.

Phenolphthalein is used for treating constipation but has been banned for its cancer-causing effect.