pkpatriotic
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Alarmimg health staistics due to spurious medicines
November 03, 2010
Alarming statistics put forward by health experts and representatives of multinational pharmaceutical companies say that somewhere between 50 to 70 per cent of medicines sold in the country are spurious. Many may be manufactured in small, backstreet 'workshops'. The hygienic conditions can be easily imagined while the contents of the pills have been known in cases to contain little more than chalk powder or even substances more gravely injurious to health.
This is an immensely alarming situation. While people are advised to buy medicines only from 'reputable' chemists, the fact is that not everyone can do so. Indeed the situation is said to be especially grim in smaller towns.
News reports in the past have spoken also of pharmacies at major hospitals stocking fake medicines or drugs which had expired. Such medicines are also stated to have been provided to flood victims, who in most cases lack the awareness to check for dates or scrutinise labels. The situation, quite evidently, is a hugely dangerous one. In recent years Pakistan has been able to export medicines. This is a positive development indicating an improvement in quality and expertise. But we need also to ensure that people at home are receiving medicines that can be of benefit to them.
A far more determined crackdown is required on the spurious drug trade and on all those who are engaged in it. These unscrupulous individuals need to be penalised under the relevant law so that people can be spared the ill-effects of using medicines that do them more harm than good.
November 03, 2010
Alarming statistics put forward by health experts and representatives of multinational pharmaceutical companies say that somewhere between 50 to 70 per cent of medicines sold in the country are spurious. Many may be manufactured in small, backstreet 'workshops'. The hygienic conditions can be easily imagined while the contents of the pills have been known in cases to contain little more than chalk powder or even substances more gravely injurious to health.
This is an immensely alarming situation. While people are advised to buy medicines only from 'reputable' chemists, the fact is that not everyone can do so. Indeed the situation is said to be especially grim in smaller towns.
News reports in the past have spoken also of pharmacies at major hospitals stocking fake medicines or drugs which had expired. Such medicines are also stated to have been provided to flood victims, who in most cases lack the awareness to check for dates or scrutinise labels. The situation, quite evidently, is a hugely dangerous one. In recent years Pakistan has been able to export medicines. This is a positive development indicating an improvement in quality and expertise. But we need also to ensure that people at home are receiving medicines that can be of benefit to them.
A far more determined crackdown is required on the spurious drug trade and on all those who are engaged in it. These unscrupulous individuals need to be penalised under the relevant law so that people can be spared the ill-effects of using medicines that do them more harm than good.
