It's scary to realize the multitude of factors that can be manipulated to produce fake drugs. It's even scarier to realize that people are increasingly vulnerable to falling for this illegal scheme. It's hard to differentiate fake drugs from the intended, safe drugs. There could be a change in the dosage of the active ingredient (higher or lower), no active ingredients at all, the fraudulent prescription may contain other harmful ingredients that aren't supposed to be included, or a con artist could possibly hand you a drug that is supposed to treat a heart attack and you wanted a drug to treat epilepsy. Then you have to think about the fact that the packaging just might be changed and the contents inside do not correlate. You can imagine the tragic consequences that result from taking unsecured prescription drugs.
Is it considered a counterfeit if the drug is sold after its expiration date? Is it safe to buy?
ReplyDeleteThe FDA passed a law in 1979 requiring drug manufactures to stamp a expiration date on all the drugs they manufacture. According to the study conducted by the FDA 90% of more than 100 drugs were in perfect condition even 15 years after their expiration drugs.
ReplyDeleteI believe you put your health at risk because how do you know the drug you are taking is not part of the 10% which is ineffective.
You should not buy drugs with the after its expiration date. That's a rip off! Most people toss those. How do you know you’re not buying a drug that someone else just tossed?
Just imagine some guy putting up a sign 'Safely Dispose of Drugs Drive' and he collects all these different drugs which are expired or are unwanted. He then turns around and sell them to you. Don't risk your life!
Here is a link with more information. We really like this article because it is unbiased.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update1103a.shtml
This is so true! Manufacturers will do anything to save a buck. They may try and reduce the amount of active ingredient in the drug or cut the active ingredient with something else to increase its amount. These cost-cutting measures can cause the drug to have serious side effects in the human body. If people don’t read the labels of what they are buying they would never know. This is especially true with generic drugs. While many generic brands are fine, consumers need to be cautious. Often times drug manufactures will combined or even skip steps when producing a drug to help reduce the cost of the drug. These changes in the drug’s fabrication can cost people their lives. People need to talk with their physician before buying the generic brand of any drug.
ReplyDeleteAngie Wallis, SN, UTA SON
If a pharmacy gave me the wrong drug or different dosage of any substance that wasnt subscribed i would have a field day and sue them for fradulent misrepresentation. This blog covers all the necessary facts and options of how to protect and avoid these counterfeit drugs. Good work.
ReplyDeleteThere's always a question about who to blame? Should you sue the pharmacist or the manufacturer or the person who transported the medicine, etc? It's difficult to figure out exactly who is responsible for the counterfeit drugs.
ReplyDeleteIt is safest not to take expired drugs. For example the antibiotics Tetracyclines can cause renal damage when taken after expiration date.
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