World News

Online pharmacies are becoming more popular among consumers and criminals, raising the possibility of online fraud and counterfeit medicines. Consumers are looking to save money because pharmaceuticals are expensive and the economy is weak. Trademark tracking service MarkMonitor estimates that while the actual number of online pharmacies declined from 3,160 last summer to 2,986 today,…

In the shady world of online pharmacies, the rich are getting richer. That's the finding of a study released Tuesday by brand abuse tracking firm, MarkMonitor, measuring the disturbing growth of counterfeit drug sales on the Web. By sifting through 60 million spam emails for mentions of six major drug brands and following the Web…

A number of counterfeit medicines being imported into Iraq across its vast borders are endangering the lives of Iraqis, especially people with chronic illnesses, a top United Nations health official has told Adnkronos International (AKI). "A large number of such drugs are entering the country, " said the UN World Health Organization Representative to Iraq…

A new Health Ministry project that will be put into practice in 2009 to combat the selling of fake medicine has already created controversy in the sector. The new Medicine Monitoring System will replace the current system in which medicine boxes are stamped with an identification number and price, and instead medicine will be monitored…

GETTING a doctor's appointment isn't always easy. And if your problem is minor or embarrassing the whole process seems even more of a hassle. So it's no surprise that self-diagnosis is increasing and the sale of medicines on the internet is booming. But it could be doing more harm than good? Feature writer KAREN HAMBRIDGE…

THE FLOW of counterfeit eastern luxury goods and sexual and athletic performance-enhancing medications into the European market has become a flood. Czech customs officers intercepted in the post and destroyed one tonne of fake Viagra, Cialis and anabolic steroid pills at Kralupy nad Vltavou, near Prague. Packages mailed from Hong Kong and India to addresses…

The Health Ministry's Department for Private Sector Institutions [DPSI], affiliated with the ministry's inspector general, closed two fake pharmacies in Al-Sadr city and seized large amounts of medicines yesterday [ 11 August]. The step comes in response to the ministry's national plan to control medicine sale in the private sector. Speaking to Al-Sabah, Health Ministry's…

THE Nigeria Customs Service has seized 120 containers of fake and expired drugs from importers. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Hamman Bello, who disclosed this when he visited the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Dora Akunyili, said the goods were seized from importers he called economic…