THE Medicines Control Council has withdrawn diabetes medicine Avandia from the market because it contains a substance that might increase heart attacks.
The medication, Avandia, is prescribed by doctors to some Type 2 diabetics and is produced by GlaxoSmithKline.
The MCC made the decision five weeks ago, "due to safety risks" caused by rosiglitazone which is contained in the medicine.
A statement released by the MCC on Tuesday said: "Rosiglitazone is associated with an increased risk ... adverse events including heart failure, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cardiac arrest".
Avandia was registered in South Africa in October 2004.
The European Union and the United Kingdom have already withdrawn medicines containing rosiglitazone from their markets.
Spokesperson for the department of health, Fidel Hadebe, could not say exactly how many South Africans are currently taking the medication.
Yesterday President Jacob Zuma's fiancée Bongi Ngema addressed a Gauteng summit on non-communicable diseases where she called for increased awareness about diabetes which has affected her personally.
"I had seen my late mother and aunt live with the disease, and appreciated the change in lifestyle and proper management of diabetes require," she said.
Diabetes medicine taken off market
THE Medicines Control Council has withdrawn diabetes medicine Avandia from the market because it contains a substance that might increase heart attacks.
The medication, Avandia, is prescribed by doctors to some Type 2 diabetics and is produced by GlaxoSmithKline.
The MCC made the decision five weeks ago, "due to safety risks" caused by rosiglitazone which is contained in the medicine.
A statement released by the MCC on Tuesday said: "Rosiglitazone is associated with an increased risk ... adverse events including heart failure, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cardiac arrest".
Avandia was registered in South Africa in October 2004.
The European Union and the United Kingdom have already withdrawn medicines containing rosiglitazone from their markets.
Spokesperson for the department of health, Fidel Hadebe, could not say exactly how many South Africans are currently taking the medication.
Yesterday President Jacob Zuma's fiancée Bongi Ngema addressed a Gauteng summit on non-communicable diseases where she called for increased awareness about diabetes which has affected her personally.
"I had seen my late mother and aunt live with the disease, and appreciated the change in lifestyle and proper management of diabetes require," she said.
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