All drugs have enough licenses, pharmacies complain

Any medicine is licensed

"Every medicine has enough documents, if you want to know exactly if it's true or false, you have to wait for the authorities to announce it."

The above shared content is not uncommon during the process of Dan Tri reporters surveying the reality at many large and small pharmacies in Hanoi , after a series of fake drugs and functional foods were exposed recently.

The Food Safety Department ( Ministry of Health ) is also continuously revoking the validity of product declaration certificates for a series of functional foods and health protection foods that violate regulations.

Along with that, many companies sent official dispatches to the Food Safety Department requesting to withdraw documents related to health food products.

List of 10 health food products announced by Nam Viet Biological Technology Joint Stock Company to be recalled (Photo: screenshot).

In reality, pharmacies confirm that 100% of their products have all necessary licenses.

When the reporter mentioned Melatonin B6 - one of 10 health food products whose registration certificates were revoked by the Food Safety Department on May 21, many pharmacies shook their heads and said: "We don't have that product."

At a facility belonging to a large pharmacy chain on Pham Ngoc Thach Street, a pharmaceutical representative affirmed: "You can rest assured, we do not sell fake or counterfeit goods. All products here have declaration documents."

Many surveyed pharmacies confirmed that they do not sell health products on the list of products whose licenses have been revoked (Photo: Contributor).

Surveying 5 more large pharmacies in districts in Hanoi, reporters received confirmation that they do not sell, have never sold products that have been discovered to be counterfeit by authorities in the past.

At a pharmacy on Vu Trong Phung Street, when a reporter asked "how can users verify product quality", the seller affirmed that all drugs here have invoices and certificates when imported.

According to the seller, in many years of operation in the area, the pharmacy has never recorded any customer complaints about the product. They also said that they have carefully selected the source of goods from many distributors to ensure quality.

To know the truth, we have to wait for... the authorities.

At a large pharmacy on Lang Ha Street, a reporter mentioned that he wanted to buy eye supplements because he worked a lot with computers. When the seller introduced a product with a foreign label, we asked about its origin and were annoyed.

Pharmacies complain about difficulties when drugs with full documents are still counterfeit (Illustration: Getty).

"I'm just a seller, the importer is a different department. If you want to know if the medicine is fake or real, you have to wait for the Ministry of Health to verify, but when I import the goods, I have full documents and invoices," said the seller.

Also wondering about the origin when being introduced to a product with an unpopular brand at a pharmacy near the French-Vietnamese Hospital (Hanoi), the pharmacist frankly replied: "We sell medicine right in front of the hospital gate so there is no need to worry about fake medicine, the Ministry of Health always comes to check."

This person further explained that counterfeit drugs are drugs that, when tested, are found to have ingredients 70% lower than the information on the label.

A pharmacy on Nhan Hoa Street shared: "If we sell products too cheaply, the quality cannot be guaranteed. Our medicine has a proper invoice. We have been selling these products for many years, and customers have bought them for many years. We do not import products just because there is an invoice. We only import products from reputable companies."

In an interview with Dan Tri, major pharmacy chains said they all strictly applied many control measures, such as: proactively randomly sampling products for independent testing, tightening the process of importing, storing, and transporting goods to each pharmacy strictly, being transparent in publishing the registration numbers of drug products and declaration papers of functional food products on websites and applications...

In addition, customers can also easily look up the origin through the purchase invoice, helping to authenticate and ensure that the product meets standards, is safe and avoids buying fake or counterfeit goods.

Users are worried: "Who to believe!"

On the morning of May 21, the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) announced that this agency has decided to revoke the validity of the Certificate of Registration of Declaration of 12 health protection food products. Of which, Nam Viet Biotechnology Joint Stock Company alone has 10 products on this list.

Hanoi police seized 100 tons of fake functional foods and medical equipment (Photo: Hanoi police)

This makes people worried, especially in the context of information about fake and counterfeit goods constantly appearing and becoming more and more popular.

After a series of incidents related to health protection products, Ms. Ta Thi Duong Thuy (born in 1980, Hanoi) could not hide her anxiety.

"I often buy functional foods for my family. But now I'm really confused, because even though I have a license, I still find poor quality products. Who can I trust anymore?", Ms. Thuy wondered.

Ms. Thuy believes that in this context, consumers need to protect themselves, should not be greedy for cheap prices, and should only choose to buy products from reputable pharmacies and brands with transparent origins.

Some types of counterfeit drugs were seized by authorities in the seizure of 100 tons of counterfeit functional foods and medical equipment (Photo: Hanoi Police).

"This is a product directly related to health. Once using fake or poor quality products, the consequences can be very serious," she emphasized.

Sharing the same concern, Ms. Vu Thi Ngoan (born in 1975, Quang Ninh) shared: "I often buy many different types of functional foods, try them out and see which one is suitable. Now reading the recall news, I'm startled and wonder if I've ever used any product on that list."

"I really don't know how to avoid fakes," the woman expressed her concern.

Ms. Ngoan expressed her frustration that information about substandard products is often announced too late, while people have been using them for a long time: "With things that directly affect health, the delay in control is very worrying."

The fake medicine ring in Thanh Hoa has shocked public opinion (Photo: Thanh Hoa Police).

In April 2025, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police dismantled a large-scale counterfeit drug production and trafficking ring, arresting 14 subjects. The authorities seized nearly 10 tons of counterfeit drugs and ingredients, including 21 types of counterfeit drugs such as Tetracycline, Clorocid, Pharcoter, Neo-Codion, and tens of thousands of boxes of counterfeit oriental medicine.

This line has been operating since 2021 and has sold products nationwide, illegally profiting about 200 billion VND.

During the same period, Ho Chi Minh City Police dismantled a counterfeit medicine production ring led by Ngo Kim Dieu and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huong, seizing 1,164 cartons of finished medicine and raw materials of all kinds (including more than 56,000 units of counterfeit medicine products, the rest were raw materials or unfinished medicines); 1,600 kg of raw material powder used to produce counterfeit medicine tablets; 5 machinery systems for capsule filling, blister packing, capsule filling, bottle filling, hot rolling and sealing the mouth of medicine packaging bags...

The counterfeit products carry 33 different brands, mainly oriental medicine combined with modern medicine to treat diseases such as bone and joint pain, rhinitis, stomach, cardiovascular, neurological...

On the morning of May 23, the Ministry of Health held a national online conference to evaluate the peak period of the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in the health sector.

According to Minister Dao Hong Lan, the Ministry of Health always identifies that medicines, health protection foods, cosmetics, etc. play a particularly important role in disease prevention, treatment and health care for the people.

The Minister said that the Ministry's viewpoint on handling counterfeit goods in the medical field is to fight fiercely and handle them strictly, with no forbidden areas and no exceptions.

Photo: Hai Yen, Minh Nhat

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/thuoc-nao-cung-du-giay-phep-nha-thuoc-than-troi-20250522190148939.htm