Maybe it’s the $200 billion market, maybe it’s the 1,700 annual reported incidents of counterfeit drugs, or maybe it’s the 800 brands that were knocked off last year. But whatever number it is, fake medications have gotten the attention of Dan Rather. His program will run tomorrow, Thursday, September 14 at 8 EST on HDNet.
USA Today also ran a counterfeit drug story in its publication today. In it, a report from Hong Kong details the “money machine” that becomes more and more out of control every year. Counterfeit manufacturers and those that peddle the fake drugs are becoming more brazen, and the authorities are having a tougher time keeping up with the underground criminal networks.
Although most counterfeit drugs are made and distributed in Asia and Africa, the fact that the fake medications are so widespread does not mean that the U.S. and other major developed countries are not at risk.
Just take Dan Rather’s report as an example. In his show “Dan Rather Reports,” he will outline tomorrow the fascinating, yet alarming case of Kevin Xu, a Chinese businessman. Xu fell into the trap of a U.S. Customs agent in China while attempting to move large quantities of expensive prescription medications into the U.S.
Xu was a major player in the counterfeit community in China, and he is now spending six and a half years behind bars for his offenses. Xu was also believed to be involved with a distribution ring that helped to ship fake medications into the U.K. This led to a “category one” recall of three drugs in Great Britain.
Many of the counterfeit medications that ultimately make their way into the U.S. are bought over the internet. The World Health Organization (WHO) found that more than 50 percent of medications purchased online, from non-trusted, illegal sources, was fake. These medications are easy to identify because they are so much cheaper than the real, FDA-approved medications.
According to the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI), consumers must be vigilant about which medications they buy, such as Viagra, online. Viagra was one of the first medications to be counterfeited in the late 1990s, and now Cialis and Levitra are also commonly reproduced as fake.
A weak economy and the rising cost of drugs such as Viagra are causing many people to bargain shop and take chances they may not normally take. However, due to the fact that fake drugs often contain additional contents not inside the patent-protected, FDA-approved medications, it’s essentially Russian roulette with a drug instead of a gun.
As CMPI points out, counterfeit medications made overseas and shipped after an online purchase are made with no oversight, and under no regulations. These drugs could, and often do contain, ingredients such as bat droppings and even worse. The drugs could be duds, and they could pose serious threats. It’s simply not worth the risk to put something inside your body unless you know what it is.
We specialize in providing our over 1,000,000 customers with relevant product and condition information created by our professional editorial staff which includes our team of medical writers, medical practitioners, and health educators. eDrugStore.com Staff on Facebook