Showing posts with label fake medicines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fake medicines. Show all posts

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

The dangers of fake medicines: Let’s work together and counter the counterfeits

A common line that Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy hears is “I can get Viagra for a lot cheaper from my mate at the pub” from men who suffering with erectile dysfunction and are coming to us because we are a fully-registered online pharmacy and a trusted source.

However, Steve down the pub flogging what appear to be ‘Viagra’ tablets, for a fraction of the cost of genuine Pfizer Viagra, is not a trusted source. He is more than likely neither a qualified doctor nor pharmacist, will not ask you about your medical history, for a recent blood pressure reading, or if you take medications for other health problems. For instance, men taking nitrate-based drugs such as Nitroglycerin for heart problems should not take Viagra as the two drugs can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Simply put, this friendly chap you meet in the toilets to buy your impotence pills does not care for your well-being but is looking to make easy money off you. It might seem appealing to save a few pounds to buy from Steve instead of a reputable and established pharmacy like Medical Specialists™, but do you really know what you are even buying?

To counter this, Medical Specialists™ now actually offer Sildenafil Teva and Sildenafil Actavis, two erectile dysfunction medications that contain the same active ingredient as the more expensive Pfizer Viagra, but for substantially less in price. Why purchase an unknown product from an unreliable means when you can spend a similar amount for the aforementioned Sildenafil brands and can rest assured you are receiving UK-manufactured medicines, with your consultation questions assessed our GMC-registered doctors who actually do care about your health. Prices for Sildenafil Teva from Medical Specialists™ works out from as little as £2.69 (based on pack of 4 x 25mg tablets on private prescription).

Ingredients in cheap Viagra-like tablets are likely to be of poor quality, expired, or many not even contain any Sildenafil Citrate whatsoever (Viagra’s active ingredient).  This can result in very little, if any at all, improvement in your erections or potentially deadly consequences from taking the cheaper knock-off. On the other end of the scale, tablets with unregulated higher doses are highly dangerous. Super-potent drugs with more than a safe level of Sildenafil Citrate could result in a heart attack.
You may also be shocked and disgusted to learn about some of the ingredients that have previously been found in confiscated counterfeit Viagra include:

. Antifreeze.
. Blue printer ink.
. Cyanide (sometimes used in rat poison).
. Drywall and plaster.
. Dye to replicate genuine Viagra’s texture and colour.
. Speed or amphetamine.

If all that isn’t enough to raise eyebrows, it’s how these drugs are made which is equally shocking. Steve in the pub may have seemingly real-looking blue ‘Viagra’ pills, but he will not tell you about the processes to produce them, and probably doesn’t know himself. Within the dirty, grotty warehouses where these pills are made, there lies the danger of potential toxicity from heavy metals and other unknown ingredients, not the risk of bacterial and fungal infection from the pills being produced in unhygienic conditions.

Friday, 28 March 2014

Dublin man fined €22,000 for selling fake Viagra in his shop

A Dublin man faces a huge €22,000 fine (roughly £18,216) after submitting a guilty plea to stocking a counterfeit version of prescription-only erectile dysfunction medication Viagra, in addition to a variety other medicines at his bargains shop.

The 55-year-old from Woodstown Park, Knocklyon, pleaded guilty to 11 offences in breach of the Irish Medicines Board Act, after investigators discovered the products at his business, Breathnach’s Bargains, at St Dominic’s Shopping Centre, Tallaght.

The Dublin native was prosecuted after two separate inspections at the premises by an officer from the Irish Medicines Board (IMB), who swooped on the shop on September 28th, 2011 and again on April 11th, 2012.

Brenda Kirby, an enforcement officer with the IMB, informed Judge John O’Neill at Dublin District Court that she visited the shop and spoke to the man’s 26-year-old son after receiving a tip-off from customs officers.

Ms Kirby subsequently spotted a “large number of unauthorised medicinal products”. The 26-year-old male promptly spoke to his father on the telephone and he informed Ms Kirby the shop would promptly stop selling the products.

As many of the patients of Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy are fully aware, Ms Kirby stressed that the Viagra brand is produced only by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and anything bearing this name that is not produced by Pfizer, is counterfeit. After Pfizer received a sample of a product seized at the shop, they unsurprisingly confirmed both the drug and its labelling was fake.

A whole host of medications are sent to Pfizer thousands of times per week by authorities and it only takes a few days to find out how genuine they are. Fake drugs can comprise of numerous disgusting and lethal ingredients such as brick dust, chalk, paint and pesticides.

Then on April 11, 2012, Ms Kirby went back to the shop and again found medicinal products on sale. The 55-year-old owner admitted to possessing Kamagra tablets – which are not licensed for sale in Ireland or the United Kingdom -  and counterfeit Viagra tablets.

He also confessed to selling other prescription items, these being Max Strength Decongestant Tablets and Vicks Sinex Decongestant Capsules.  Calpol in 100ml and 140ml bottles, Diarrhoea Relief Capsules and Beechams All in One Tablets were also being sold at the premises.

Judge O’Neill convicted the man and handed down fines totalling €22,000 to be paid within four months or a 21 day prison sentence will be enforced. His son pleaded guilty to three charges relating to keeping Max Strength Decongestant Tablets and Vicks Sinex Decongestant Capsules in stock for supply. He must donate €1,000 (roughly £826) to charity by May 27 to receive the benefit of the Probation Act, otherwise he will be convicted and fined a larger amount.