JEDDAH, 11 June 2008 — A man was arrested in Jeddah’s Nuzha district on charges of posing as a doctor who could cure joint pains and bone diseases with fish oil therapy he claimed he learned in Turkey.
Dr. Mahmood Abdul Jawad, assistant director of health affairs at the Medical Licensing Board of the Ministry of Health in Jeddah, participated in the raid and questioned the suspect.
Abdul Jawad said officials sent to the person an undercover policeman who posed as a patient suffering from knee pain. The man allegedly prescribed to the officer several SR100 sittings to cure what he diagnosed as a chronic rheumatic disorder. Afterward, police entered the clinic and arrested the man. They also seized the placebos he was using in his illegal treatments.
In a separate development, the health authorities closed five unlicensed south Jeddah pharmacies. The pharmacies were selling myriad fake treatments, including medicines claiming to cure diabetes and osteoporosis as well as breast augmentation pills and mixtures professing to induce uterine contractions to expedite childbirth.
Drug Banned
The Ministry of Health yesterday banned the sale of a drug that purportedly stimulates physical growth. “We have banned the sale of Growth-Max, a drug available at pharmacies and supermarkets and at healthy diet stalls throughout the Kingdom,” said Mansoor Al-Hawasi, deputy minister of health for executive affairs.
Besides building muscles, helping athletes recover and reducing the effects of stress, the drug, which is available in capsule form, is said to increase people’s heights by six centimeters after six months’ continuous use.
Al-Hawasi said the Ministry of Health is not sure about the safety and effectiveness of the drug, since it has not been registered with the ministry. He added that the ministry only allows the sale of drugs that have undergone scientific tests to ensure they are safe for use.
— Additional input by M. Rasooldeen
