The survey, conducted by the China Consumers' Association recently in Beijing, Shanghai and South China's Guangzhou, revealed that almost half of the revenue earned by sex shops is from fake products, which are said to cure sexual dysfunction in adult males.

In the three cities, more than 95 percent of the surveyed shops boasted that they sell medicine that reverses impotence, erectile problems and other dysfunctions, while the Ministry of Health has regulated that only qualified hospitals can prescribe the drugs that deal with this kind of problem.

The association found that sex shops offer quick and easy access to adults while the procedure in hospitals can be time-consuming. And business hours for sex shops are longer than hospitals', with some stores even staying open around the clock.

"The health authorities should allow more hospitals to prescribe the drugs and make patients receive timely and satisfactory treatment," Dong Jinsheng, vice-chairman of the association told yesterday's press conference.

Health experts and professors also said the authorities should have a hand in the battle against fake sex medicines and products, which are currently rampant in the markets.

"Men should be told that only doctors in hospitals with approved qualifications are authorized to prescribe drugs to reverse such dysfunctions," said Xin Zhongcheng, professor with the Institute of Urinary Medicine under Peking University. Enditem

But some men are not brave enough to see doctors because sex is still a taboo subject for them, Xin said.

Xin suggested that the authorities should provide discreet channels which allow ordinary people access to sex related knowledge and solutions to such dysfunction.

(Xinhua News Agency 07/25/2001)