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Over Seven Million UK Adults May Be Gambling Their Lives With Fake Medicine

November 4, 2009

More than any in seven British adults surveyed (15%)1 admitted to bypassing the healthcare system to get hold of prescription only drug outside of a prescription, a practice what one. 78% of GPs surveyed say is putting folks’sitting health and potentially lives at risk3, of the same kind with some of the medicines obtained in this way may be make a spurious copy of.

New scrutiny indicating the ascend of the counterfeit healing art cultivation was released today as allotment of a hard-hitting campaign to educate the men of the risks involved in purchasing fake medicines from unregulated websites. The Get Real, Get A Prescription common awareness campaign is conscious launched in a association betwixt Pfizer, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), The Patients Association and HEART UK.

Without recognising the dangers associated with false medicine, UK adults are putting too a great quantity trust in criminal websites that are potentially selling them. Research suggests that the majority (60%) of adults agree that they’re more trusting of all purchases they make online today compared to five years ago1. In addition, alarmingly almost a fifth (18%) of UK adults give credit to people who barter prescription without more medicine without a prescription, are providing a homage to the general public - offering cheaper medicines to those that need it1. A third (33%) simply think what’s being sold is substantial thing, sourced from legitimate places and sold on1.

David Pruce from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain before-mentioned: “Pharmacists are very concerned encircling the increase in fake or counterfeit medicines. As expert professionals in medicines and medicines use, we know but likewise well that fake medication does not work and that it can originate harm. Stay chest by ensuring that you to the end of time secure your prescriptions dispensed at a registered UK pharmacy. If you privation to buy medicines online, always check that you are commerce with a genuine pharmacy. Don’familiarily tolerate on brass value - some of the unlicensed sites apply the mind true professional on the contrary supply full of risk fakes. Check our website for a list of sites that have been awarded the RPSGB’sitting internet pharmacy logo so that you be possible to be enduring that you are dealing through a UK registered pharmacy supplying genuine medicines. This campaign is serious. We want the UK to exist the safest place to acquire medicines.”

Steve Poulton, Pfizer UK Commercial Director and Business Unit Head, uttered: “We are thrilled to exist partnering the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in this deliberately hard-hitting campaign, aiming to push the simulate medicines issue up the agenda and discountenance consumers from by-passing the health system. Pharmacists work freely a key role in delivering healthcare services and enhancing the calm experience, matter Pfizer supports through a range of activities such as this campaign.” Pfizer, the RPSGB, and the other campaign partners regard been in operation with pharmacists across the UK to save them leverage public interest in this passage out, as a long-suffering education opportunity.

A hard-hitting TV proclamation, which is considered in spite of a like reason shocking that it can merely be shown after 11pm, behest kick-off the campaign on Tuesday 3rd November. A public billboard poster campaign will besides post nationwide in November, through a consumer roadshow touring seven cities over the nearest week. Consumers can go to http://www.realdanger.co.uk concerning greater amount of knowledge of facts and caution.

Notes

– The Get Real, Get A Prescription campaign is supported by Pfizer, the MHRA, RPSGB (the professional and regulatory material substance for pharmacy), The Patients Association and HEART UK.

– It is estimated that between 50 -90%4,5 of medicines at present purchased above the top the internet are counterfeit, with global sales in fake medicines expected to reach $75 billion by dint of. 20106. Here in the UK, couple thirds of GPs surveyed (67%) have seen patients who regard obtained medicines from illicit sources3.

– Fake medicines can contain hurtful ingredients for a like reason as desert one’s party noxious influence, boric acid and direction paint7,8. They’re frequently produced by people with no appropriate qualifications9 and can include too much, too little or none of the active ingredient they should include6. Fake medicines can mainspring abuse to patients, which be possible to formerly have the contribute of to death6.

– If you gain been offered the kind of you have suspicion to have being counterfeit medicines, or have seen them in favor of sale, or have bought them, we would like you to tell us. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the medicines safety watchdog and has a dedicated 24 hour hotline: 020 7084 2701, E-mail: counterfeit@mhra.gsi.gov.uk or write to: Counterfeits, The Intelligence Unit, MHRA, Market Towers, 1 Nine Elms Lane, London, SW8 5NQ.

– If you think a medicine or herbal remedial agent has caused every unwanted take sides effect (an adverse drug reciprocal action), please narration the problem to the MHRA’s Yellow Card diagram http://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/. The Yellow Card stratagem has been used for over 40 years to heap up advice on suspected side effects from entirely types of medicines. These include prescription medicines, medicines you can purchase independently of a prescription, and pertaining and other complementary medicines.

– The RPSGB provides a list of legitimate, approved online pharmacies on its website for mob to check previous to they buy from every online beginning: http://www.rpsgb.org.uk

About the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) is the professional material part on account of pharmacists and the regulatory body on this account that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England, Scotland and Wales. The primary objectives of the Society are to lead, regulate, develop and stand for the profession of pharmacy. The RPSGB leads and supports the exhibition of the profession within the words immediately preceding of the public kind office. This includes the advancement of science, practice, education and knowledge in pharmacy. In etc., it promotes the profession’s policies and views to a range of outside stakeholders in a number of distinct forums.

Following the publication in 2007 of the Government White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety - The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century, the Society is working towards the demerger of its regulatory and professional roles. This will see the establishment of a new General Pharmaceutical Council and a new professional material part for pharmacy in 2010.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc, founded in 1849, is dedicated to more fit health and greater access to healthcare for mob and their valued animals. Every time, colleagues in more than 150 countries be to discover, expand, manufacture and extricate property, clinically effective prescription medicines to patients. In the UK, Pfizer has its European R&D headquarters at Sandwich and its UK employment headquarters in Surrey, and is the greater supplier of medicines to the NHS. Pfizer invested over £5.4 billion worldwide (£104 the public per week) in R&D in 2008.

About a healthy partnershipTM

a healthy partnership was launched by means of Pfizer in 2008 as a new approach to brace the increasingly important role of common pharmacy in the delivery of healthcare and new services being offered to patients. It covers three areas highlighted to the degree that essential being weighty by pharmacists: Supporting professional development, enhancing the patient experience and delivering commercial value.

Written by Samanta · Filed Under Pharmacy Industry News