Spain police catch trafficking gang

Spanish police say that for the first time they have broken up a human-trafficking gang that brought men to the country to work as prostitutes, providing them with Viagra, cocaine and other stimulant drugs to be available for sex with other men 24 hours a day.

Authorities arrested 14 people, mainly Brazilians, on suspicion of running the organization and another 17 alleged prostitutes for being in Spain illegally, the National Police said in a statement Tuesday.

Police inspector Jose Nieto said the case involving the Brazilians was the first in which Spanish authorities dismantled a ring in which traffickers brought in men, rather than women, to toil as sex workers.

The victims, men in their 20s and estimated to number between 60 and 80, were mainly recruited in northern Brazil and saddled with debts of up to euro4,000 ($5,000) as the cost of bringing them to Spain.

Some were duped into thinking legitimate jobs awaited them as go-go dancers or models; others knew they would be working in the sex industry, but not that they had to be prepared for sex around the clock and would be moved from one province to another depending on demand for their services, Nieto told a news conference.

The men had to give half their earnings to the gang, and pay for rent and food in the apartments where they worked.

"If the men complained or caused any kind of problem, the gang leaders would threaten them, even with death," the police statement said.

The arrests were made in recent weeks and the alleged ringleader is a Brazilian based in Palma on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca.

Besides Viagra and cocaine, the men were given marijuana and the club scene drug known as 'poppers', the police statement said.

Sex is a multibillion-dollar industry in Spain, with brothels staffed mainly by poor immigrant women from Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe lining highways just about everywhere and respectable daily newspapers brimming with ads from people selling their bodies. Prostitution falls in legal limbo: it is not regulated, although pimping is a crime.

CHMP recommends brand extensions

The CHMP also gave positive opinions to applications for the extension of indication in seven brands.

Lilly's Adcirca (tadalafil), currently marketed as erectile dysfunction drug Cialis, is set to become a pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment.

The Medicines Company UK's Angiox (bivalirudin) was recommended to include patients with ST-segment myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

It is currently authorised for treatment of adult patients with acute coronary syndromes planned for urgent or early surgical intervention.

Eli Lilly's Cymbalta and Boehringer Ingelheim's Xeristar (both duloxetine) should both have their indications extended to include treatment of major depressive disorder.

Finally, the indications of three hypertension drugs - Boehringer Ingelheim's Micardis and Bayer Schering's Pritor and Kinzalmono (all telmisartan) - are set to be extended.

They will now include the reduction of cardiovascular morbidity in patients with manifest atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease or type II diabetes mellitus with documented target organ damage.

Source:http://www.inpharm.com/news/european-regulators-begin-tysabri-review

JWT wins Pfizer account, denies it's 'Viagra 2'

UK advertising agency JWT London has won an account from Pfizer, but played down media reports it had been appointed to help launch an over-the-counter version of Viagra.

Pfizer was also being tightlipped about its reasons for engaging JWT and on any plans it may have for an OTC follow-on to its blockbuster erectile dysfunction brand.

“Since its introduction in 1998, there has been ongoing speculation about Viagra,” a Pfizer spokesperson told Pharmafocus. “But we don't have anything to announce at this time.”

The “Viagra 2” story connecting JWT to an OTC version of Viagra appeared inCampaign magazine and was, until this week, posted on the ad agency’s website.

The agency said the story had been put up in error and removed it from the site after Pharmafocus pointed this out.

JWT London did confirm it had won some new business by Pfizer, but refused to say what it was. “The whole ‘Viagra 2’ thing is not right,” a JWT spokesperson added.

Nevertheless Pfizer’s ‘little blue pill’ has been such a success as a prescription drug that making it available without a prescription could be a logical step.

When asked about this Pfizer said: “We have many options for all our medicines and are continually evaluating ways to increase patient access to healthcare solutions.”

But it would not be the first time the company has tried to make the drug more easily available.

Three years ago it worked with some Manchester branches of Boots the chemist on trials to make Viagra available on an OTC basis. In these men aged 30 to 65 were able to buy four pills following a consultation with the pharmacist.

At the same time Pfizer submitted an application to European regulators to switch the drug’s prescription status. But EMA advisors at the CHMP had some concerns with the move and their provisional opinion was that the switch should not take place. Part of their reasoning was that the information provided with the medicine was too complex.

An additional factor was that erection problems can be a sign of an underlying condition, such as coronary artery disease, and the CHMP thought making Viagra available on the high street could delay or prevent diagnosis.

Source:http://www.inpharm.com/news/jwt-wins-pfizer-account-denies-its-viagra-2

Australian Sex party takes anti-spin position

The major parties have attempted to brainwash voters with mindless slogans during an election campaign that was light on substance and heavy on spin, the Australian Sex Party says.

Ms Patten said the Australian Sex Party wanted to make the nation the "most socially progressive country in the world".

"We are the party of the outsider ...

"Our candidates will never be found on the Queen's Birthday honours list or at the prime minster's cocktail party."

The party's policies include legalising voluntary euthanasia and same-sex marriage, introducing an R and X rating for computer games and taxing religions.

Fiona Patten, the party's leader, said it also wants to bring about the development of a national sex education curriculum and list Viagra, Cialis and other drugs used to treat sexual dysfunction on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The Rise of Cialis

For many years Viagra has been the sole product for men who suffer erectile dysfunction, but another product own by eli lilly who make a drug called Cialis have been catching FAST! and now claim to have a 50% share in some countries.

So far Cialis have brought out four different dosages of there drug 2.5mg (Cialis daily), 5mg, 10mg & there strongest version 20mg.

All these drugs have been proven to work well for most men who suffer impotence, but the main bonus to Cialis over Viagra is that it lasts up to thirty six hours, which means you don't have to take it just before sex.

Cialis UK is also now one of the most type keywords in Google for prescription medication, and regular adverts on television on make its branding even more popular.

Fat absorption inhibitors & Weight loss

If you are one of the millions of people in the country who are currently trying to lose weight, you might be tempted to try a diet supplement. As anyone who has lost weight can tell you, shedding extra pounds is hard work, and it takes a lot of focus and dedication. Counting calories, watching what you eat and getting enough exercise can be daunting. These are just a few of the reasons why the diet supplement business is so popular and enormous; people who are literally desperate to lose weight are looking for ways to help make the process easier and quicker.

Popular forms of weight loss supplements are Fat absorption inhibitors. Fat absorption inhibitors are drugs that prevent fat from absorbing into the body. Xenical is the only fat absorber that is currently approved for use in the UK. It works by blocking about 30 percent of fat from being assimilated. The weight loss drug Alli, available over the counter, is really Xenical in a smaller dosage.

Studies of Xenical & Alli have been fairly positive, people who took Xenical were found to lose weight.

If you really want to take a weight-loss drug, it seems like either Xenical or Alli are both designed to give the same result—a lower number on the bathroom scale. But it would probably be a really good idea to look over the side effects of both medicines, the diet you would be expected to follow at the same time, and if doing just the diet alone would give you the results you are looking for.

Counterfeit Viagra market in the rise

The amount of counterfeit impotence medicine smuggled here has grown 23-fold during the past five years.

The National Tax Service detected in January-July this year 18 cases of smuggled impotence medicine worth 90.6 billion won ($77 million) in total, according to the data it submitted to Rep. Lee Ae-joo of the ruling Grand National Party.

The amount is a 23-fold jump from the 3.8 billion won back in 2005 and is expected to rise further by the end of the year.

The amount of counterfeit medical substances smuggled to the local market in January-July reached 90.8 billion won, among which over 99 percent was impotence cures such as Viagra and Levitra, according to officials.

The majority of the detected fake medicine was manufactured in China.

The imitation impotence pills either included an illegal overdose of active ingredients or toxic substances such as mercury or lead.

“The NTS detects the smuggled medicine by randomly inspecting some 10 percent of the imported cargo,” said Rep. Lee, a member of the parliamentary health, welfare and family affairs committee.

“The actual amount of illicitly circulated medicine is expected to be much higher.”

Recently, importance cures have been circulated in bulk in local black markets, according to the police.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s international crime department arrested an ethnic Korean man from China for smuggling and circulating fake Viagra and Cialis, said officials Tuesday.

The smuggler packed 270,000 pills, worth 4.2 billion won in total, in a cargo container and sent them to Korea through the international delivery service.

The fake pills were not only ineffective in curing men’s sexual impotence but often caused medical side effects.

Customers were easily fooled by the smuggled pills as they displayed the exact same visual packaging as the original.

Under the present law, impotence cure pills may only be purchased in pharmacies with a medical doctor’s prescription, but the potential takers are easily attracted to the black market out of shyness to discuss the issue openly, said officials.