Counterfeit medicines are no longer small-fat that someone can make and sell. Its a big business. Circumstances say that if there is any other such crime in the knowledge, then it is drug trade.
whole world The business of counterfeit drugs is on the rise. Despite the dangerous consequences, it is a very profitable business. Pain relievers made from charcoal, appetite suppressants containing toxic arsenic, and plain water sold in the name of medicine to treat impotence. Every year the international crime world is earning billions of rupees by selling spurious medicines. These medicines are sold through the internet, over the counter or illegally. Generally these medicines do not have any effect but sometimes they are fatal and can even kill. It is estimated that in Africa alone, some 700,000 people die because of using spurious malaria or TB drugs.
The business of spurious drugs is increasing in all the countries of the world including India and Germany. In the first six months of last year, the excise department seized 14,00,000 counterfeit drug pills, powders and samples. This is about 15 percent more than in 2012.
Many counterfeit medicines come from East Asian countries. Germany’s Frankfurt Airport is the largest cargo hub in Europe. About 90 tons of baggage arriving in Frankfurt by air are searched each year. An attempt is made to catch the goods by the packing done for the first transport. They may have a special packing or a suspicious name instead of the sender. If any letter or parcel is suspicious, then it is sent to the laboratory for investigation, where it is thoroughly examined from every end.
Counterfeit medicines are no longer small-fat that someone can make and sell. Its a big business. Circumstances say that if there is any other such crime in the knowledge, then it is drug trade. The reason for this is also very clear. There is a lot of money in this business. More so than the drug trade, in fact. There is a profit of 25,000 per cent in the counterfeit business of a drug like Viagra. This figure of profit is at least 10 times more than the business of counterfeit cocaine.
Medicines for the treatment of malaria, heart disease, blood pressure and even HIV can also be procured through the illegal route. Sometimes this medicine is not genuine but fake. Also these medicines are put together in a very unsafe way. Counterfeit drug makers take very little care in their laboratories, and laboratory samples show that they are sometimes mixed with substances such as rat droppings.
The threat of these counterfeit drugs is greatest in developing countries, where there is little or no regulation of the drug trade. According to the report of the World Health Organization, the trade of counterfeit medicines is spreading very fast all over the world. Significantly, in many countries, the business of these counterfeit drugs has reached 10 percent of the total medical business.
In 2019, an annual report by the US Trade Representative’s Office suggested that up to 20 percent of drugs sold in India were counterfeit. Whereas in 2018 the Central Drug Standard Control Organization estimated that 4.5 per cent of generic drugs in the Indian market were of substandard quality. According to an estimate, during the Corona period (2020-2021), there was an increase of about 47 percent in the incidence of fake medical products in India.
To prevent the increasing effect of fake medicines, the central government is now going to put QR codes on medicines. The government plans to introduce a ‘track and trace’ system for top-selling drugs. In the first phase, 300 of the best-selling medicines will print barcodes or QR codes on their packaging labels, scanning which will give information about the drug being genuine and fake.
India produces world class medicines. That’s why the country is known as ‘Pharmacy of the World’. India accounts for 50 percent of the total demand for generic drugs in Africa. Not only this, India supplies 40 percent of the US’s requirement and 25 percent of the UK’s generic drugs. India produces 60 percent of the world’s total vaccines and 70 percent of the total vaccines used in the mandatory vaccination campaign of the World Health Organization.
Apart from India, 7 percent of Egypt and 6 percent of China have a share in the market of spurious drugs. Furthermore, every year more than 3000 deaths are caused by counterfeit medicines worldwide. On November 22, 2022, the State Drug Control Authority in Himachal raided spurious medicines on the basis of secret information. In this, counterfeit medicines, raw materials, machinery, pretend file paper, cartons and stickers with the brand names of well-known companies were seized. The seized drugs include leading manufactured drug brands under the names of renowned companies such as Cipla, Zydus Cadila, USV Pvt Ltd, IPCA Laboratories, McLeods Pharmaceuticals, Signova Healthcare, Rhine Life Sciences, Himar India, Martin & Harris and Torrent Pharmaceuticals.
To prevent the increasing effect of fake medicines, the central government is now going to put QR codes on medicines. The government plans to introduce a ‘track and trace’ system for top-selling drugs. In the first phase, 300 of the best-selling medicines will print barcodes or QR codes on their packaging labels, scanning which will give information about the drug being genuine and fake.