Vandine: Only purchase registered medications, consult with specialists
MINISTRY of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine called on people to be careful when using medicines and to only buy products with a registration number and date of production.
Vandine advised that people consult a specialist before taking any medication as well. “We must remember that medicine is not food but is made using the right combination of chemicals, formulas and techniques.
“Before taking or using the drug, it is important to know that it works two ways: If we use the right medication, it will give us benefits, but we use it incorrectly, it could kill us,” she said.
She added that consumers should check the registration and visa numbers provided by the health ministry and also check the medicine package about date of use or manufacture of the drug.
“On the other hand, before using the medicine, please consult a specialist, but if there is a slight pain, such as a headache, they can use over-thecounter medicines that do not require a doctor’s prescription such as vitamins, paracetamol and the like,” she said.
Vandine noted that about 32 per cent of the drugs, cosmetics and products in circulation in the country today are imported from India.
She said Cambodia also imports medicines from other countries – about six per cent from Thailand and five per cent each from Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, France, Germany, Vietnam and South Korea. Other countries account for about 21 per cent.
“Locally, we also have our own local pharmaceutical factories and we are pushing for our local products to be around six per cent,” she said.
Regarding counterfeit or substandard medicines, Vandine said they are products that are not in accordance
with the rules or the law in force in Cambodia, some of which has no active substance or has the incorrect substance according to the packaging.
She noted that the number of registrations of drugs, cosmetics and medical equipment year-on-year.
“The number of items registered by the ministry since 2020 is 35,735,” said Vandine.
Registered modern medicines account for 71 per cent; medicinal supplements 6.6 per cent; traditional medicines 1.84 per cent; medical equipment 11.36 per cent; medical equipment for use in machine and laboratories eight per cent; and just over one per cent is materials applied to human body or external body applications.
Heng Bunkea, director of the ministry’s Department of Drugs, Food, Medical Equipment and Cosmetics, previously said that all medicines must be 100 per cent registered before they can be marketed in Cambodia.
“Do not think that the medicines in Cambodia are bad or any other country is better, all the drugs are of the same quality before being put on the market. Let there be no perception that only medicines from abroad are good,” he said.