Candy 'removes nicotine'
2005-12-22 14:02
Seoul - A North Korean drug firm claims to have developed a candy that suppresses the desire to smoke cigarettes and heals smoking-related diseases.
The white, round candy removes nicotine from the body, "lifts the love of cigarettes without adverse effects, improves the immunity and heals the diseases caused by cigarettes," Korea Pugang Pharmaceutic Co, Ltd said on its website.
The firm says the candy is made from "rare medicinal herbs" collected from deep mountains of northern North Korea in accordance with a therapy pioneered by an ancient Korean herb doctor.
For years, North Korea has been staging an anti-smoking campaign, with leader Kim Jong Il even calling smokers one of the "three main fools of the 21st century", along with people ignorant of music and computers.
Experts in South Korea estimate more than 40% of North Korea's 22 million people light up regularly, compared to about 33% in the South. Considering it's rare for North Korean women to smoke, the smoking rate among male adults is believed to be much higher.
According to the website, the company won a patent for the anti-smoking candy in February this year.
It wasn't clear if North Korean smokers can get help from the product, as the website apparently targets foreigners, including South Koreans.
The order form available at the website is written in both English and Korean, but doesn't give a price.
The Pyongyang-based company asks those who want to buy the product to contact its headquarters and its branch offices around the world, from China and Japan to Indonesia, Vietnam and Cuba and Zimbabwe.
On the net:
www.pugangpharma.com
- SAPA