20 Tons of Fake Antibiotics, Analgesics and Other Medicines Collected in Peru
Peruvian officials have confiscated 20 tons of fake medication since 2007. 30% of the fakes confiscated were counterfeit antibiotics and another 30% fraudulent analgesics.
Peru’s General Agency for Medicine and Drugs (Digemid) reported that antibiotics, analgesics and anti-inflammatories are the most fake medications in Peru, reported Living In Peru.
“What is most often faked are medicines that cure common illnesses,” said Percy Ocampo Rujel, Executive Director of Health Vigilance for the Ministry of Health, adding that vitamins and natural products can also be faked.
Ocampo said that sellers of adulterated medicine can be sentenced with up to 15 years in prison, based upon recent changes in sentencing guideliness. “Our operations will have the support of judges, who will be able to assign prison sentences,” he added.
Ocampo reminds consumers to watch out for fakes by checking the medication’s for degradation as well as verifying it is not expired and issued by a licensed pharmacy.