Party pills campaign launched

National MP Jacqui Dean has launched a campaign to further restrict the sale of "party pills".

The sale of the pills, which are legal and widely available at a range of shops throughout the country, was this year restricted to those aged 18 years or over.

But MP Mrs Dean said that did not go far enough and she was now collecting petition signatures calling for far tighter restrictions.

Mrs Dean said she had been travelling around the Otago region and had so far collected thousands of signatures.

Her action was spurred by the sale of the pills in Oamaru shops and some of the accompanying advertising and promotion, which appeared aimed at people younger than 18, she told National Radio.

Mrs Dean said she believed there was support on both sides of Parliament for a further law change restricting party pill sales and she would lobby Health Minister Pete Hodgson on such a change early next year.

A recent study found that the active ingredient in many party pills -- 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) -- can cause seizures in otherwise healthy people.

The study by a group of Canterbury health professionals found that between April and September, 61 patients were admitted on 80 occasions to Christchurch Hospital's emergency department suffering from adverse reaction to the pills.

- NZPA