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Counterfeit medicines: it's an alarm

The phenomenon concerns above all the "love pills", but does not spare even the "lifesavers"

ROME - – Europe «besieged» by «fake» pills, syrups and vials. Counterfeit medicines are "a growing threat to the health" of citizens, indeed a deadly crime, against which the old continent must implement stricter measures". This was underlined by the president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), Arthur Higgins at the annual Conference of the Federation, today in Paris.

FOUR BILLION FAKES – The numbers leave no doubt: in all, over 4 billion packages of fake medicines were seized in Europe in 2007. And if the Internet is confirmed as the first source of counterfeit pills, these have now also appeared on the traditional market. According to data from the World Health Organization, released in Paris, the business of false medicines is around 45 billion euros a year worldwide, and represents a slice equal to at least 10% of the global pharmaceutical market.

RISKS FOR CONSUMERS – The danger for consumers who stumble upon fake drugs is considerable, experts point out. In fact, medicines containing toxic substances, or lacking the active ingredient, or still with an incorrect quantity of active ingredient have been discovered among the counterfeit packages. And in the crosshairs of counterfeiters there are also life-saving products, including medicines to treat cancer and heart disease, psychiatric problems and infections. If ad hoc proposals for more rigid legislation on the subject are expected at European level before the end of the year - together with the new 'pharmaceutical package' - according to the specialists meeting in Paris, there is no need to waste time. Measures are essential to combat this alarming phenomenon, which shows no signs of abating and undermines the health and safety of European citizens.

«LOVE PILLS» – A particularly serious risk concerns drugs for erectile dysfunction. This was denounced by the Italian Society of Andrology (SIA) "In our country all the main drugs that serve to increase erectile function are sold under medical prescription and therefore must be dispensed from a pharmacy - underlines Vincenzo Gentile, president of SIA - However, the daily bombardment of e-mails offering the possibility of buying these products abroad on the internet, circumventing the legislation in force in Italy, is a common experience". "This method of purchase does not allow the patient to verify the origin and actual content of the product that will be sent to him, the Italian Society of Andrology therefore invites you not to circumvent the medical prescription and to contact a specialist to get adequate and correct information and to evaluate which is the most suitable therapy, if necessary". «Especially since, in order to take this kind of medicine, a precise check of the patient's state of health is required – Gentile points out – Only a doctor is able to avert complications linked to the incorrect use of medicines and identify the cause of the problem. An annual visit to the andrologist – c