Counterfeits surface in markets all over Europe

Counterfeits - a serious risk

While the counterfeiting of clothing or music involves losses for the manufacturers - and for Governments in terms of lost tax revenues - there are other sectors in which the purchasing of counterfeits can provide a serious risk to health, or to life.

The World Health Organisation for example, estimates that some 7% of the world’s medicines are fake. These fakes lead to many cases of unnecessary illness and death each year – as well as losses to the pharmaceutical industry of more than $16 billion, with a good part of these losses going into the hands of organised crime syndicates and terrorist organisations.

Not only is there a loss of revenue from the brand, but the credibility of the drug company and the brand is put a risk. Furthermore, people’s lives are threatened. Indeed, the W.H.O has shown that the effects of these products have been associated with some 400-500 deaths over the past five years. Many of those deaths were children. In the USA the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is so concerned about the importation of fake medicines that it has called for a special study to be carried out into piracy and grey market trading in this sector.

Also in the medical field there have been cases of counterfeit medical tubing kits used in open heart surgery, of counterfeited eye drops containing contaminated water – which could cause blindness if put into an infected eye – as well as ineffective antibiotics and potentially lethal injectable drugs