- Counterfeit medicines create a false sense of security for those who consume them.
- They also cause up to a million deaths globally each year.
- There are also miraculous or deceptive products that are often advertised as medicines even though they really are not.
Medicines are one of the most important inventions of the modern age because they help prevent millions of deaths each year. While the development of each one requires years of research and millionaire investments. For the same reason, they are also a reason for falsification or apocryphal versions that today are known as “cheating products” and put at risk the integrity of those who consume them.
The danger of the black market
In the first instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that 10 percent of drugs sold globally are counterfeit. This is a worrying situation because it not only affects the pharmaceutical industry but also puts millions of people at risk.
Just to put in perspective, The consumption of counterfeit medicines causes between 300 thousand and one million deaths each year throughout the world. On the economic front, it is estimated that the black market for illicit medicines generates profits of 150 million dollars a year.
With this in mind, there must be strong regulation to ensure that each formula actually works and does not seriously harm people. In our country the highest authority is the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris).
They are advertised as medicines but in reality they are not
In this sense, the danger lies not only in counterfeit medicines, but also in other products that are often advertised as curative, although in reality they are not. Before they were called miraculous but As of this year, Cofepris has baptized them as “deception products”.
To disguise their lack of recognition as drugs, their manufacturers claim that they are nutritional products with health properties. In the end it is a scam to deceive people.
The main characteristic to identify this type of scam is to check the packaging. If it claims to be a drug, then it must have a health registration number. If you don’t have it, then it’s deception products.
Now, in order to more easily identify this type of scam, Cofepris has prepared a manual. These are seven questions that everyone should ask themselves before purchasing any of these products that are often advertised as nutritional but are by no means medications.
Did you know that the ❌💊#ProductsDeception pose a health risk?
👉 We invite you to answer the following questions and learn 🔍 to identify them. 🤚#DeceptionNoMiracle
Design in collaboration with @SPRMexico pic.twitter.com/hy8v9f1406
— COFEPRIS (@COFEPRIS) June 8, 2022
Do you have an image related to an organ or a part of the body?
It must not have or include images of body parts or organs.
Does the product name refer to a body part or condition?
It should not refer to a part of the body or a condition.
Do you have a list of ingredients?
Food supplements must have a complete list of ingredients and in order of quantitative predominance. In products that include herbs in their formulation, whether or not they are mixtures, both the usual or common name and the corresponding botanical name must be included, indicating the genus and species.
Does it have the legend “This product is not a medicine”?
Food supplements must include legends informing that the consumption of the product is the responsibility of the person who recommends and uses it and that they are not medicines.
Do you have the address of the manufacturer, marketer or distributor?
It must include the manufacturer of the marketer product, importer and/or distributor, as well as its address.
Do they have an expiration date?
All products must contain an expiration date.
Does it claim to cure, prevent or rehabilitate one or more diseases?
It should not attribute therapeutic, preventive, rehabilitative qualities that do not correspond to its function of use.