What is a counterfeit medicine?

According to the European Alliance for Access to to Safe Medicines (EAASM), a counterfeit medicine is one which contains:

  • an incorrect amount of active ingredient (too little or too much)

  • a wrong active ingredient

  • no active ingredient at all

  • toxic and/or other non-medical components (eg road paint, floor wax, shoe polish, talcum powder, chalk)

  • the correct ingredients, but fake packaging and documentation

Although the World Health Organization claims that only about 1% of the world's global trade in prescription drugs is counterfeit, as EAASM states, this still equates to around 7 million prescriptions annually in the UK, or some 20 million in Germany, that could be filled by counterfeit drugs. 

It is the staggering expansion of the counterfeit medicine problem—expansion that's occurring at approximately twice the rate of 'legitimate' pharmaceutical trade—that spells yet another major hazard for those wedded to the notion of new-to-nature, patented drugs based medicine.

A survey reported in EAASM's latest report, suggests that as much as 62% of medicines purchased over the internet in the EU may be counterfeit! The problem is little or no different elsewhere, according to research by the US-based Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. 

Click here to read EAASM's 2008 report: The Counterfeiting Superhighway.

What to do

The EAASM gives European consumers the following advice:

  • Don’t buy from sites that offer to sell you medicines without a prescription, or sell medicines that are not approved by The European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

  • Don’t buy from websites that do not have a registered pharmacist available to answer questions.

  • Don’t buy from websites that offer ‘bulk discounts’, ‘sample packs’, ‘new cure’ or ‘amazing results’.

  • If the website offers an ‘online consultation’, be very careful. Unlicensed websites often offer this service to make them look professional and legal.

  • Only buy from safe, reputable pharmacies. Make sure the online pharmacy is properly regulated. You can check this with your national regulator.

This may be sound advice. But we've got simpler advice that will be applicable to the vast majority of people, the vast majority of the time (consult a qualified healthcare professional who works in the field of natural medicine and healthcare to determine the most appropriate health strategy for you):

  • Support your body using food and natural products of known high quality, as well as other non-drug therapies, as far as you can. Check out the ANH Food4Health campaign for further information.