|
Friday, March 04, 2005
9 pharmacies padlocked for selling fake drugs
DAGUPAN CITY -- Health and food and drugs officials closed down nine drug stores in Region 1 or the Ilocos Region for allegedly selling counterfeit medicines.
Department of Health 1 Director Eduard Janairo said that five of the nine drugstores were in the province of Pangasinan.
The health official added they are monitoring 780 more pharmacies on suspicion that they are selling counterfeit drugs.
He said the people could not distinguish a fake drug from a real one because they look the same and have similar packaging.
"They could not be detected unless they are examined in the laboratory. They would not know unless they feel that instead of recuperating, their ailment worsens," he said.
The health department coordinated with the Bureau of Food and Drugs in going after the drugstores selling counterfeit medicines.
Citing that most of the fake medicines they've seized were in capsule form, Janairo said the capsule could contain sawdust, starch or the right content but not the correct dosage.
He said there is a great possibility the medicines with small dosage would make the microbes stronger because the drugs were not strong enough to eliminate them.
"If the microbes undergo mutation, the ailment gets worse and the patient will be needing medicines of greater dosage," he said.
Janairo urged the public to buy drugs from bigger and known drugstores to avoid buying counterfeit drugs.
He even advised the people to avail of receipts so that if the medicines sold to them were fake, the health department and food and drugs bureau could easily file charges against the pharmacy. (FPM)
(March 4, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Former congressman charged with kidnapping