The Global Problem of Counterfeit Medicine

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John Smith Chemistry Project  

Counterfeit medicine

By John Smith


Counterfeit medicine by John Smith

What is medicine?

Medicines are chemicals or compounds made to cure, prevent or stop disease and relief symptoms or diagnose certain illnesses.  

Medicines are ultimately used to save lives, not just in humans but also in other life forms.

Different types of medicines and how their made?

Medicines come from a range of sources; they come from our biosphere in nature in places such as the Amazon rainforest. For example, the Curare plant is a large poisonous vine rich in alkaloids. The alkaloids relax muscles and are used as an arrow poison. In South America, it is used to treat bruises, fever, edema, and kidney stones.

Other medicines are produced in laboratories by incorporating together a number of chemicals. In other cases such as penicillin; they are a derivative of organisms such as fungus.    

A few medicines are even biologically engineered by inserting genes into bacteria that make them produce the desired substance.

Ways on how to take medicine

  • Liquids that are swallowed (like cough syrup)
  • Drops that are put into ears or eyes
  • Creams, gels, or ointments that are rubbed onto the skin
  • Inhalers (like nasal sprays or asthma inhalers)
  • Patches that are stuck to skin (called transdermal patches)
  • Tablets that are placed under the tongue (called sublingual medicines; the medication is absorbed into blood vessels and enters the bloodstream)
  • Injections (shots) or intravenous (inserted into a vein) medications

Counterfeit medicines

What is a counterfeit drug?

The term "counterfeit drug" has many meanings because of many countries have varying definitions on it, for example; The Pakistan Manual of Drug Laws is different to the Philippines Republic Act No. 82036. To counter this, the World Health Organization made a universal definition:

"А counterfeit medicine is one which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source. Counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit products may include products with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging."

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Impact on public health

In the majority of cases counterfeit drugs are not safe or effective compared to genuine medicine. Regardless of whether they may contain the certain amounts of ingredients needed, their manufacturing and delivery are not controlled by the drug authorities of that certain country. In turn this means, defects and undesirable reactions will not be documented and a product recall can’t be carried out. Overall counterfeit drugs are dire and should be avoided.  

What types of drugs are counterfeited?

Any drug can be counterfeited. From antibiotics to pain medications to antiseptic creams. Due to ...

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**** There is a good structure and some evidence of research but the whole piece lacks evaluation. It is possible to argue that some counterfeit drugs perform a valuable service in certain circumstances but it has not been put forward at all. I would like to see much more discussion of the drug manufacturers profits and the moral case for counterfeiting drugs.