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So here is a story you don’t hear about everyday:  It turns out that the Chinese Department of Health has been conducting under cover surveillance at herbal tea shops and found that some were lacing their tea blends with what they describe as ‘Western Drugs’.

Lab tests showed the presence of two drugs: Paracetamol and Chlorpheniramine

Paracetamol, or what we here in the West refer to as acetaminophen – aka Tylenol, a common drug available over-the-counter to help relieve pain and fever.  Although many people will agree that it is generally a safe drug for short term relief, over exposure has been linked to liver damage (since it is processed through the liver)

Chlorpheniramine is an antihistamine that blocks the naturally producing histamines in the body, and is used to control allergies and common cold symptoms (such as itching, sneezing, and runny nose).  It is also not recommended to be used by breastfeeding mothers as it can pass through the milk and harm the baby.

It’s a sad reality to see that even in China local shop owners are  trying to get a ‘heads up’ on their local competitors by trying to enhance their products.  Maybe they weren’t aware of the side effects or didn’t care if people were reporting illnesses.   Or maybe they were.  Reminds me a lot of a story I read where Red Bull was found to containe trace amounts of cocaine .

It goes to show you that regardless of what the product is the practice of trying to get a one up on competitors has been going on for ages.

Snake Oil Anyone?