Ho Chi Minh City determined to handle fake and poor quality drugs

According to the latest report of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health , in 2024 and the first months of 2025 alone, authorities inspected thousands of pharmaceutical businesses, discovered hundreds of violations, and imposed fines totaling tens of billions of VND.

Specifically, in 2024, the Department of Health inspected 174 drug wholesalers, 344 drug retailers and 40 medicinal herbs establishments. Thereby, 151 administrative penalty decisions were issued, handling 147 establishments with a total fine of more than 7 billion VND.

In addition, the District Health Departments and Thu Duc City also inspected more than 6,750 drug retail establishments and discovered many violations. The City's Drug, Food and Cosmetic Testing Center tested 413 drug samples at 149 establishments and discovered 15 samples that did not meet quality standards.

Notably, the authorities discovered 9 establishments selling counterfeit drugs, 8 of which were inspected by specialized agencies and 1 was reported by the public. The Department of Health has filed a case and transferred it to the City Police for investigation and handling according to regulations.

Common violations include: trading drugs outside the permitted scope, purchasing drugs from establishments that do not meet business conditions, selling drugs without invoices and documents, not tracking purchase and sale data, and not ensuring the quality and traceability of medicinal herbs and traditional medicines.

Some of the counterfeit drugs are mainly drugs for chronic diseases, high-priced specialty drugs, medicinal herbs and functional foods. Some counterfeit products are also advertised on social networks, using packaging images similar to genuine products, confusing consumers.

Faced with complicated developments, the City Department of Health has established an interdisciplinary inspection team to launch a peak campaign to raid pharmaceutical businesses throughout the area.

The inspection focused on high-risk groups such as establishments trading in herbal medicines, traditional medicines, functional foods, and product groups that are easily counterfeited or of poor quality. The goal is not only to detect and handle but also to create a comprehensive deterrent and rectification of pharmaceutical business activities.

In addition, hospitals, pharmacies, and testing centers are directed to review the list of products in use, compare it with the list of counterfeit goods that have been warned, and develop a purchasing process to ensure legal supply sources with full invoices and documents.

The fight against counterfeit drugs cannot rely solely on the authorities. The role of the people is a key factor. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has called on people to be vigilant, to only buy drugs and functional foods at licensed establishments and to stay away from products of unknown origin, especially those sold on social networks. People are also encouraged to proactively report to the authorities when they discover counterfeit trading, helping the authorities promptly detect and handle violations.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thanh-pho-ho-chi-minh-kien-quyet-xu-ly-thuoc-gia-thuoc-kem-chat-luong-post880735.html