La contrefaçon des médicaments : état des lieux, moyens de lutte

Abstract

A counterfeit medicine is defined as a pharmaceutical product that is manufactured and sold with the intention of misleading the consumer on to the origin, authenticity or efficacy of the product. Over the years, this type of product has gained importance worldwide, posing a major public health problem because the formulation may contain an inappropriate or absent dose of active ingredient, toxic products or unknown ingredients, Moreover, tampering also manifests itself in false packaging or inaccurate labels. As a result, the pharmaceutical industry is affected as sellers of the genuine product and it is in their interest to ensure that the public has access to medicines that have been tested for safety and efficacy. In addition, public health is also influenced by this falsification being a major cause which consists of the ineffectiveness of the treatment until the fatal incidents. Among the main reasons for this phenomenon, we find that globalization tops the list followed by the weakness of legislation and authorities, in addition to this we note poverty which opposes the high cost of medicines and the lack of awareness. This problem has been debated in numerous conferences between the various international organizations in order to be able to control it, raise awareness among patients and health professionals and call on the authorities to apply the necessary sanctions. As a result, the anticounterfeiting discourse is presented as the denunciation of a general and sensitive problem and the solutions it evokes are "reinforcement" solutions, by adopting an approach that criminalizes fraudulent practices and by promoting judicial and police activities and the reinforcement of detection technological systems. Therefore, we should not forget the important role played by the pharmacist in the detection and reporting of suspected cases and in raising awareness among the general public, with his efforts and those mentioned above, this problem can be limited and solved