TGP warns public against counterfeit medicines
As the country celebrates the National Consciousness Week against Counterfeit Medicines this November, The Generics Pharmacy, the country's top generic medicine store, warns consumers against the dangers of buying counterfeit medicines.
Earlier this year, the Department of Health (DOH), has issued a public health warning against the use of a counterfeit tetanus solution for injection. Several counterfeit medicines were also recorded in the country in the previous years.
The Department of Health has recently estimated that almost 10% of medicines available in the country are counterfeits. This is on top of the World Health Organization (WHO) study highlighting that around 1 to 10% of drugs sold around the world are counterfeits, but may be as high as 50% in some countries.
WHO has also noted the global impact of what it calls the spurious falsely labeled, falsified and counterfeit medicines (SFFC) which was once a problem among developing and low income nations, but has now become an issue for all countries around the world.
According to the WHO, falsified drugs may contain the wrong active ingredient, the incorrect amount of the active ingredient, or no active ingredient at all. Around 16% of counterfeit drugs, according to the WHO, contain the wrong ingredients, while 17% contain the wrong levels of necessary ingredients.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) also confirmed through laboratory tests, the presence of several unwanted ingredients in counterfeit drugs. Among these ingredients are heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, chrome, uranium, strontium, selenium, and aluminum.
The PSM has noted these metals to be carcinogenic or toxic to the central nervous system, kidneys, liver, skin, bones or teeth. It has also found actual poisons such as rat poison, boric acid, antifreeze, polychlorinated biphenyls and benzopyrenes in the tested fake medicine samples.
The WHO also added that the so-called SSFFC products are often produced in very unhygienic conditions and may contain unknown impurities that may sometimes be contaminated with bacteria.
"With the growing number of counterfeit medicines globally, it is becoming crucial to know how to identify real from fake drugs," said TGP Vice Chairman Benjamin Liuson.
TGP, an advocate of anticounterfeit medicine awareness, calls the public to be vigilant in checking the authenticity of the drugs.
Consumers should choose trustworthy and DOH-accredited drugstores, check the verification logo or certificate of the drugs, be observant in the spelling and grammar of the packaging, and be mindful of the pricing, especially when it comes to suspiciously low-priced medicines.
In 2001, the Bureau of Food and Drugs has found several drug outlets selling counterfeit products including drug products that are not registered. It has also warned all drug store owners, pharmacist and consumers that counterfeit drugs to "take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the retailing, dispensing and usage of such counterfeit drug."
For generic medicines, DOH encourages the public to buy from registered generics drug stores. The Generics Pharmacy, accredited by DOH also joins the intensified campaign against counterfeit medicine and has ensured the public that all their medicines are real, verified, and certified by the government.
"Our consumers can be sure that at TGP, they no longer have to worry about counterfeit medicines because our products pass all local and international standards and verification tests," Liuson added.