Counterfeit Drugs : The World Of Pharmacy

With access to prescription drugs, people are able to treat a multitude of diseases and illnesses. These drugs help deal with pain, inability to sleep, depression, and much more. Every day we are increasingly living in a world where there is better living through chemicals. However, what most do not seem to see is the rising tide of pain, illness, and ultimately death being caused by the pills people take every day. Most keep drugs in a special place in their minds, where they see them as harmless. Sadly, this is not the case, and in some cases our prescription drugs can be just as harmful as illegal drugs (King 68).

For several industries in Asia, in particular pharmaceuticals, security issues include fake branded products and the substitution of goods with counterfeit or inferior quality replacements. Recent supply chain security initiatives are also designed to address security problems relating to the sale of counterfeit goods. In August of 2008, Hong Kong customs discovered 2.5m cigarettes in a container that was marked to contain other goods. If these items had not been identified as fake, they could have been sold as original brand goods, resulting in a substantial shortfall in excise income for the Hong Kong Government.

The prices of prescription drugs in the United States are by far the highest in the world. [1] On average, Europeans pay 40% less than Americans for the same medications. [2] Consumers have been resorting to several ways, sometimes putting themselves in harm’s way, to alleviate the burden of high prescription drug costs. Some buy their medications online or cross the borders to neighboring countries so they would be able to afford buying their needed medications. Others have resorted to the illegal act of selling their unused medications in online forums just to recover part of their expenses. Many factors contribute to the increased drug prices in the United States including research and

The item is unlawful medications. The individuals who bargain these medications are Culprits. That is the thing that makes the medication business diverse then whatever other. Alcohol is a medication, yet grown-ups are permitted to utilize liquor items. Nicotine is a medication, yet grown-ups are permitted to utilize a wide range of structures of tobacco items, all which have tobacco in them. The drug Caffeine can be found in numerous ordinary things, similar to pop confection bars. Consider what number of cops we would require if caffeine items were illicit.

In this situation the drugs were originally manufactured in the United States or an FDA approved facility. The danger to the end user or patient is simply not knowing where the drugs came from to begin with. This is where the FDA feels the patient could ingest either weak, over potent or counterfeit drugs with potentially deadly side effects. Many on-line Canadian pharmacies have actual drugs imported from U.S. sources and some do not. As long as the consumer can find a reputable and licensed Canadian pharmacy that has a strong Internet presence there is no real danger of impure or counterfeit drugs(2). Several top FDA officials have testified to Congress regarding the importation of drugs from foreign sources. Their conclusion has been consistently, the burden this would place on the director of the FDA would be unfair(4). The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CIDER) has attempted to evaluate the potential for regulation of such drugs, with the conclusion that regulation would be extremely costly and nearly impossible. The main reason the task would be difficult would be the need to test every pill, vial, or suppository that entered the United States. Since the drug is generally destroyed in the process the consumer would never receive their prescription. The position of the FDA is, and should be to protect the American public. However during my

A new escalating drug abuse epidemic has come about in the recent years; people are now choosing prescription pills as their new drug of choice. The use, abuse and death caused by prescription drugs has increased significantly within the past couple years. All types of prescription pills are more easily accessible from their doctors, family members or off the street. Doctors are handing out prescriptions for pills, such as pain management pills, muscle relaxers, and anti-anxiety, like they are candy and not potentially dangerous to the consumers. In today’s society doctors are over prescribing pills to Americans and the prescription pill distribution should be more closely monitored and controlled. Although there are people who benefit

This is a journal study to investigate the perceptions and opinions of the professional community pharmacy staff about the causes of dispensing errors and strategies to prevent these errors. A survey was completed by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in 49 community pharmacies and the response rate was 90.9% (Lopes, Joaquim, Matos & Pires, 2015). Handwritten prescriptions were the most single cause of medication errors 51.5% and drugs with similar packages 45.6% (Lopes et al., 2015). Checking prescriptions and confirmation of drugs through barcodes was 97% which were the most agreed prevention methods (Lopes et al., 2015). This article would not only be useful to pharmacy personnel but to other health practitioners or students performing research. In addition, a study similar to this could serve as an example (initiative) that may benefit management. Such initiative would be implemented to help improve medication

Amongst those who become addicted to misusing their drugs and people readily taking advantage of this situation, there is an irrefutable and profitable market. Due to the growing accessibility and faulty restrictions on prescriptions, almost anyone can acquire opioids, and there is a large population of patients that sell their medication rather than use it. An article by Celine Gouder entitled “Who Is Responsible for the Pain-Pill Epidemic?” reports her experience with a cancer patient. According to Gouder, her patient "was selling his prescription narcotics to help support his wife and himself," and when hospitalized, overdosed when his medicine was actually administered to him. Though the legality of sharing, trading, and selling prescription medication is heavily restricted, the penalties for doing so are almost never applied, which fosters growth in these illegal activities. According to the CDC’s “Prescribing Data,” on opioid overdose:

National Intelligence Analysis et al. (2010) maintain that in 2009, fake versions of OxyContin and erectile dysfunction drugs were smuggled into Canada from foreign countries, but despite that, domestic production continued to increase. Aside from anabolic steroids and anaesthetics, the majority of prescription drugs entering the illicit drug trade were acquired from the medical system (NIA et al., 2010). The smuggling of prescription drugs through the Canada-US border continued, although it typically involved small amounts (NIA et al., 2010). According to National Intelligence Analysis et al. (2010), the illicit use of oxycodone and oxycodone trafficking have increased in Canada, which is demonstrated by an increasing amount of seizures and investigative methods, as well as in the rising number of casualties caused by oxycodone use. The heightened amount of fake OxyContin versions in Western and Eastern Canada suggest that criminal organizations may be becoming more involved in the illicit trade of pharmaceutical drugs (NIA et al., 2010).

People all over the world, continue to be tendered prescription medication, which in many cases further complicate health issues with its myriad of side effects. In fact, statistics have shown that approximately 100,000 people around the world die as a result of prescription drugs annually (Smith, 2012). On the contrary, according

The term ‘covert medication’ means to give medication secretly hidden in food or beverages, without consent from patients.

Eckhart Tolle once said “Every addiction arises from an unconscious refusal to face and move through your own pain. Every addiction starts with pain and ends with pain. Whatever the substance you are addicted to- alcohol, food, legal, or illegal drugs, or a person- you are using something or somebody to cover up your pain.” As time continues to past the amount of people that misuse or abuse prescription drugs increasing rapidly. This has become a huge issue with teens because they are always looking for a way to fit in with their peers. Drugs are misused for many different purposes because of the way today’s society is set up.

From the beginning of time we have these pre-conceived notions that doctors are a secure haven. The relation between the drugs and the dealer greatly resemble the relation between pharmaceuticals and physicians. Society views the doctors as the problem, but if you dig deeper, you’ll notice that it relies on the pharmaceutical industries. The FDA approves these drugs that could benefit you in one aspect, but it can also wreak havoc on the potential consumers. Although, pharmaceutical drugs aren’t always defective, they allow the pain to subside, even if the relief is temporary. The drugs that are prescribed are not curing disease, but merely concealing the symptoms.

Doctors noted approximately 350 differing effects from this drug in less than 2 months. This is far more than the less than 100 effects reported on the previous year (Greenemeier, 2008). One contatimnet was later identified and found to be oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (Liu, 2008). Oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS) is based off of chondroitin sulfate but has completely different effects. OSCS ignites the immune system enzymes which trigger inflammation as well as an extreme dropping of blood pressure (Greenemeier, 2008). This is a substance which would have no need to be present in drugs for anticoagulants. A total of 12 Chinese companies were discovered to have shipped these contaminated Heparin doses out to 11 countries, Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States (Liu, 2009). These suppliers were receiving their drug components from unregulated labs and farms from rural China (Greenemeier, 2008).This contamination is associated to over 80 - 100 deaths and hundreds ill in the United States alone (Liu, 2009). Thousands of families lost loved ones due to a preventable error. As said by Leroy

Counterfeit Medicines were acknowledged as a problem in the 1980s, when forgers started to copy lifestyle drugs to fight obesity and baldness (Lomb, 2014). The Counterfeiting process of market prescription drugs like antibiotics, vaccines, birth control as well as hypertension and diabetes medication started later, where antibiotics and steroids represented the bigger portion of the forgers market (See