It is very important to differentiate real from fake medicine. Medicine bought from unscrupulous vendors may not only aggravate one’s health condition,but can also lead to untimely death.
There are no definite ways to distinguish fake medicines from real ones since counterfeiters aim to make fake medicines look real.
In some cases, fake medicines may have a bigger brand name than the generic name, or has no brand name at all.
Also, the color or texture of the tablet, capsule, the ampoule or its content differs from the ones you usually buy.
The Coalition against Fake Medicines has disseminated posters to branches of Mercury Drug and other member drugstores of the Drugstores Association of the Philippines (DSAP) to help consumers distinguish fake medicines from real ones.
The education campaign is part of the information drive of the coalition to minimize and eventually stop the trade of counterfeit medicines flooding the country.
The coalition advises the public to check the medicine’s BFAD-registration and take note of the lot/batch number and expiration date.
In the event that consumers have doubts about the medicines that they bought, it is best to keep the unused medicines and receipt.
Any information on counterfeit medicines can be reported to 1-800-10-FAKEMED (3253-633), toll free from anywhere in the Philippines.
The Coalition against Fake Medicines is composed of 12 organizations, namely the Department of Health (DoH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Justice (DoJ), Philippine Medical Association (PMA), Philippine Pharmaceutical Association (PPHA), Drugstores Association of the Philippines (DSAP), Mercury Drug Corp., Watson’s Personal Care Stores, Zuellig Pharma Corp., GMA 7, and Pfizer, Inc.
