Spurious Drugs

    Human body needs pure water, oxygen and food for long and healthy life & in case due to some reasons or change in weather if it become victim of any disease then need quality but genuine medicine, but unfortunately very large percentage in Indian population have no access to pure water nor eatable pure food stuff and add insult to injury even genuine drugs. As per survey in India twenty to twenty five percent drugs sold are spurious, which instead of helping patients to gain health become reason of deteriorating his/her physical conditions further. Question rises here why spurious, inhumane and money minded traders have no fear of law and authorities whether they are doing business of water, food or drugs which are substandard, adulterated and synthetic? Then its simple and straight forward answer is that lack of stringent law and corrupt bureaucrats nexus make these traders to do their business without any problem. If some traders apprehended and punish heavily then it will be lesson to others and they won’t dare even in their dreams to do inhumane trade in the country. It is lack of Government will that these traders are doing business under there nose across country.
     Media is exposing on fortnight basis on an average spurious items sold in the country and government machinery appears jam and rusty to take action against them rather they watch these horrifying revelation with close eyes and ears, leaving innocent countrymen on to the mercy of their luck and God, but it is the hard fact that spurious market is making Indian hollow.
      In a shocking revelation of survey, Indian drugs market is worth Rs.50 billion and approximately twenty five percent share is of spurious drugs and it included low and substandard contents drugs and expiry drugs which sent back to market after changing dates, and drugs taken by a patient either low in content or expiry dates are dangerous and even kill a patient. Sometimes back a news channel invited C.E.O. of famous and well known pharmaceutical company in its studio and put in front of him lot of his company drugs which were mix of spurious and genuine and asked him to trace his company drugs and fake one, after full concentration and thoroughly watching he failed to recognize his company’s genuine drugs and fake one, his remarks was that fake and genuine are so much identical in packaging that it is hard to differentiate them. So if a Company C.E.O. was unable to separate fake and genuine then it is ridiculous to hope that common citizen can trace and avoid from this spurious drugs trade. Its not that government has no information that in the market spurious drugs selling are common practice. Even in the country right now only seven labs are available for testing which is by no mean are enough for country like India. Spurious drugs are sold mainly in the remote areas of rural market. Experts points fingers towards well known companies most saleable brands which are copy by spurious drug traders because it give them hefty profits and so these drugs has very short life at the shelves of chemists., even chemists can also be blamed as they put anything forward by distributors without bothering to cross examine if the forward are genuine or fake. So to avoid becoming part of this market some vigilance required when ever somebody needs medicines like –

• Check lot batch number of medicines
• Always ask for bill
• Always purchased drugs from registered and known chemists.

It is the tragedy with Indians that despite having government machinery in place and spending money they need to be vigilant to scrutnise whatever medicines they are taking is original or fake. For a patient who has minor problem/disease fake drugs will not effect severely but if patient is in serious or critical condition then these spurious drugs can be prove life threatening.