Friday, February 12, 2016

The Dangerous and Illegal Trade in Counterfeit Medicines

 

Look in your medicine cabinet, reflect on the those pills you may have taken for a recent flu. How do you know they are not fake?

Counterfeit medicines are 25 times more profitable than selling drugs and according to the World Health Organisation it is “an age-old practice which flourishes in many countries and is motivated mainly by the huge profits to be made”.

Here are a few examples: Cough syrup containing antifreeze (that led to 84 deaths in Nigeria in 2009). Teething medicine for babies made from car battery fluid and false contraceptives.

Figures from the WHO show that every year between 100,000 and one million people are victims of the trade in counterfeit medicines.

The Council of Europe introduced a treaty nearly five years ago in a a bid to crack down on the practice of selling fake medicines. It provides a framework for national and international co-operation in tackling the problem.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: Euronews

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