Counterfeit drugs can kill people, doctors are also victims

Counterfeit drugs: Loss of money, loss of health, even death

Sharing about the current situation of fake drugs, fake health foods, fake milk... that authorities have continuously discovered in recent times, Dr. Hung said that anything that is not consistent with the advertising or registration content is considered fake.

"There are fake things that only cost money, like fake clothes and shoes, but they don't kill people. But there are fake goods that affect the health and lives of users, in this case milk, medicine, and functional foods.

These are things used to treat diseases and nourish the body. When using fake products, not only will you lose money but you will also lose your health and even die," said Dr. Hung.

Dr. Duong Duc Hung, Director of Viet Duc Hospital (Photo: Phuong Hong).

According to this expert, a simple example is a patient with an infection, the doctor prescribes antibiotics, but the patient buys fake antibiotics that do not have active antibiotic ingredients or do not have enough content, the patient takes them, the infection is not controlled.

As the condition worsens, treatment not only incurs additional costs, but can also lead to the risk of death if the condition becomes severe.

Doctors are also victims

Dr. Duong Duc Hung shared that in the recent scandals about fake drugs, fake functional foods, and fake milk, many people have asked the question, how responsible is the health sector, hospitals, and doctors?

"Many people ask, is this fake painkiller sold in hospitals? If it is sold, it cannot be blamed entirely on the hospital. Because when bidding for the hospital, there are complete documents, there is no regulation to bring it for testing. And if there is testing, this batch they put in is real, the next batch could be completely fake if they intend to produce and trade fake drugs.

The doctor prescribed an antibiotic that was appropriate for the patient's condition, and the prescriber was not wrong. What was wrong was that there were counterfeit products being produced and circulating on the market, not that the prescriber was wrong. The name of the drug prescribed by the doctor was correct, but when the patient went to buy it, he bought a fake drug," said Dr. Hung.

Counterfeit drugs were discovered (Photo: Thanh Hoa Police).

Dr. Duong Duc Hung pointed out a worrying fact: when people buy medicine, they mostly rely on trust. Patients take the doctor's prescription and go to the pharmacy to buy it, but there is no way to know for sure if the medicine is real or fake; only testing can tell the difference.

Mr. Hung said that when it comes to counterfeit goods, many people tend to immediately blame the health sector. But we need to be fair: for a counterfeit drug production chain to exist, from purchasing raw materials, organizing production, consuming on the market on a large scale, over a long period of time... it cannot be due to just one loose link. It is a whole chain with many links that need to be tightly controlled.

"Even doctors can buy fake medicine when they buy medicine for themselves or their relatives. Ask the doctor if they can distinguish fake medicine with the naked eye? We don't have that ability. Distinguishing between real and fake medicine is not a doctor's expertise. But if you ask if the medicine is suitable for the disease, the doctor can give accurate advice because that is our expertise," said Dr. Hung.

He emphasized that patients do not have many options when it comes to treatment, and buying medicine is mandatory. Therefore, the pharmaceutical business is a special industry, with conditions, and requires strict supervision.

"Counterfeit drugs, fake functional foods, and fake nutrition not only cause financial losses but also directly threaten lives. Do not be indifferent when you see someone around you using fake drugs, because any of us can become a victim," the leader of Viet Duc Hospital warned.

According to him, with such systemic problems: from quality control, market surveillance to brand protection... we cannot rely on just one unit. The entire political system must get involved and coordinate synchronously to effectively prevent counterfeit goods.

"When people detect unusual signs, such as a suspicious factory, speaking up and reporting... these 'rice-powered cameras' are very meaningful in preventing negativity, not only with fake drugs but also in all other fields," Mr. Hung shared.

In particular, he emphasized: manufacturing and trading fake drugs and functional foods is not a normal fraudulent act, but an act that threatens public health. Therefore, sanctions must be strong and strict enough to deter, and cannot be lenient.

Sharing the same view, Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co, Director of Bach Mai Hospital, said that the hospital does not have the function of testing goods. Therefore, it requires the authorities to check the quality of goods, from import, production to circulation, so that when the goods arrive at the hospital, doctors and patients can feel secure in using them.

In addition, the head of the unit must also be "honest" so as not to be bribed by businesses, so that low-quality and highly discounted counterfeit goods cannot enter the hospital," Associate Professor Co said.

Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co, Director of Bach Mai Hospital (Photo: Tuan Dung).

Ministry of Health: Businesses take advantage of open mechanisms to do illegal business

Sharing on the sidelines of online and in-person meetings with ministries, branches and localities on the issue of fake medicines, cosmetics and functional foods, Ms. Tran Viet Nga - Director of the Department of Food Safety (Ministry of Health), said that recently, the investigation police agency of the Ministry of Public Security has dismantled a number of fake food production and trading lines.

"We consider these to be extremely serious incidents. At the same time, this is also a wake-up call for organizations and individuals who do not have business ethics and do illegal business to change," said Ms. Nga.

Ms. Tran Viet Nga, Director of the Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health (Photo: TD)

The Director of the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) admitted that product declaration is very simple, so businesses are rushing to self-declare. This puts a lot of pressure on the management agency when conducting post-inspection. According to her, management in our country currently has certain difficulties.

Firstly, in order to create transparency for businesses, Decree 15/2018 of the Government allows businesses to self-declare and take responsibility for the quality and safety of their products.

Accordingly, businesses can self-declare and produce immediately, without having to go through document review or assessment by state management agencies.

"With such open policies, businesses should have a high sense of responsibility in this matter. However, in reality, many businesses have taken advantage of this open mechanism to do illegal business.

There are products that should be declared as nutritional products, medical products, products for special diets, but businesses declare themselves as food supplements. This is a condemnable act of circumventing the law by organizations and individuals," Ms. Nga emphasized.

Second, the announcement is also very simple, so businesses massively self-announce. This is very difficult and also puts great pressure on state management agencies when the number of inspections and post-audits is very large.

The time for state management agencies to review documents is also very short, 21 days for the first submission, and only 7 days after amendments and supplements.

With the empowerment, the highest responsibility of the enterprise is to comply with the legal documents issued by the management agency. The large number of records and many fake records (declaring a large number of products but not actually producing that quantity) is a challenge for the management agency.

Ms. Nga said that the legal documents are relatively complete, if businesses comply, it will not be a big problem. However, here, businesses deliberately make mistakes and deliberately produce counterfeit goods for profit, regardless of business ethics.

According to the leader of the Food Safety Department, with the empowerment of businesses, post-inspection by state agencies is extremely important. However, in reality, in localities, human resources and funding for post-inspection (post-inspection of records, post-inspection of production facilities, sampling of products circulating on the market, etc.) are still facing many difficulties.

The quantity of products is large, the post-inspection staff is thin, and the budget is also very difficult. Localities mainly focus on taking samples to check safety indicators. Therefore, for a long time, we have not detected fake food products with poor quality like the recent fake milk case.

To overcome this situation, in addition to advising the Government to issue consecutive telegrams, the Ministry of Health has issued a document directing 63 provinces and cities to strengthen post-inspection work, especially for groups at risk of counterfeiting, food groups used for special subjects such as children, the elderly, etc.

To strengthen strict management of functional foods, the Ministry of Health is currently coordinating with relevant ministries and branches to advise the Government to issue a Decree amending and supplementing Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP.

The aim of the amendment is to enhance product quality and safety, improve the effectiveness of state management to effectively protect public health.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/thuoc-gia-co-the-giet-nguoi-bac-si-cung-la-nan-nhan-20250519113123013.htm