Global Trade in Fake Drugs Tops $30 Billion

 Global Trade in Fake Drugs Tops $30 Billion

The World Health Organization estimates that 25 percent of medicines sold in poor countries are counterfeit¹.  Monitoring by the World Bank and others suggests  the overall global trade in fake and substandard drugs is now more than $30 billion per year. Experts are asking for stricter regulation and better international collaboration² to check this public health menace.

Some 40 percent of the drugs available in many sub-Saharan African and South American countries are either fake or substandard - according to research by the World Bank and international public health groups.  And experts say the widespread circulation of poor-quality or substandard medicines leads to frequent treatment failure and even loss of life. 

Experts working to stop this counterfeit drug traffic met in Washington recently to discuss legal and enforcement solutions.  Louise Shelley is a criminologist and director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption³ Center at George Mason University in Virginia.

“We are focusing much more on narcotics⁴ trafficking rather than on counterfeits⁵ that can do harm to many more individuals than consuming of illicit⁶ drugs," said Shelley.

Shelley says sophisticated transnational criminal organizations are behind the manufacture and distribution of drugs that do not conform to proper standards.  She says only a coordinated⁷ international effort can deal with organized crime on this scale.

“I think WHO, law enforcement community, consumer organizations, civil society everybody has a role in it," she said.

“You have no guarantee of the safety, efficacy or quality of those products," said Margaret Hamburg.

Dr. Margaret Hamburg heads the Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency which oversees⁸ the safety of drugs and food products in the United States.  The FDA took strong action this week against thousands of internet pharmacies⁹ selling illegal medical products.

Dr. Patrick Lukulay of The United States Pharmacopeia, an organization that sets standards for medicines, says drug purity needs to be ensured through an international initiative, because the ingredients come from many parts of the world.

“In the US - 80 percent of active ingredients come from either India or China into the US so US companies are vulnerable," said Lukulay.

“In India you have 10,000 manufacturing companies and so although the regulators are making investments it’s difficult to catch up," said Andreas Seiter.

Andreas Seiter is a global pharmaceutical¹⁰ expert.  He says many countries need to increase their regulatory capabilities¹¹.

And Michael Bates of  the World Health Organization says it is not only patients who are ignorant about fake medicines. He says many health professionals are also unaware¹².

“This is a complex international trade.  And we need greater information on the scale and the scope, the harm and economic damage done by this issue to convince the policy makers¹³ to commit resources to tackle this," said Bates.

Experts say a worldwide, coordinated effort is needed to deal with the problem - including better monitoring and regulation, upgrades in law enforcement capabilities, and the sharing of testing technology.

1 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

2 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 counterfeits   

v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Objects and people looked like counterfeits of themselves. 各种人和事好象都给自己披上了伪装。 来自辞典例句
• We have seen many counterfeits, but we are born believers in great men. 我们见过许多骗子，但是我们天生信赖伟人。 来自辞典例句

6 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

7 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

9 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

10 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

13 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》