Royal Gazette for more than 20 years, has admitted having sex with patients.

Dr. Solomon confessed to a US physicians' board on Wednesday that he enticed patients into having sex in his office and elsewhere.

In a letter to the Maryland Board of Physician Quality Assurance, he wrote: "I admit that for at least 20 years, I have used my position as a physician to instigate a wide range of sexual relations with at least eight women patients.'' "This conduct included acts of sexual intercourse, as well as other explicit sex acts,'' Dr. Solomon, 61, wrote.

Dr. Solomon, a frequent visitor to the Island, retired from writing his column last month and has not been replaced by this newspaper yet.

Three former patients had filed lawsuits against Solomon last summer seeking a total of $140 million.

They claimed he used his authority to induce them into having sex. And one, identified only as Jane Roe, claimed Dr. Solomon forced her to ingest vials of drugs before sex.

Until Wednesday, Dr. Solomon had denied the allegations, saying they were an attempt to keep him from making a bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination next year.

Dr. Solomon spoke of his political ambitions and work as the chairman of Maryland's Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission when he visited Bermuda last summer.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette , he promised to send a copy of Bermuda's National Drug Strategy Report to Maryland's National Drug Strategy.

And he said he planned to present Maryland's drug scheme as a national model to President Bill Clinton.

Supporting community drug action groups, Dr. Solomon said that citizens -- with government support, could win the war against drugs.

This was proving true in some of the most drug-torn and dilapidated areas of his state, the former Maryland health secretary said.

His letter to the physicians' board was part of an arrangement with members allowing him to surrender his medical licence, the Associated Press reported.

Police said last month they would not pursue criminal charges. The county prosecutor would not take a call seeking comment late Wednesday, the wire report said.

Dr. Solomon, who has an unlisted home telephone number, issued a brief statement to the Associated Press: "I pay the price, there is nothing more that I can do.'' Dr. Solomon specialised in the treatment of obesity at his practice in suburban Towson.

He developed and marketed the `Slice of Life Weight Loss Programme' and wrote several books, including `The Truth about Weight Control' and `Doctor Solomon's Easy, No Risk Diet'.

Until last month, he wrote a weekly health advice column syndicated by the Los Angeles Times.

Attorney Joanne L. Suder, who represents the three former patients, said they were relieved by Dr. Solomon's admission and the medical board's action.

The lawsuits were placed on inactive status last month after Dr. Solomon filed for bankruptcy.