Danger to health

We all face risks every day of our lives. Some risks are too trivial to mention whilst others such as crossing the road for instance become instinctive after a time. Whilst lending something to a friend can hardly be considered a risk, lending money to a stranger definitely is. It?s a matter of everyday judgment that counts and if you find that you are offered something that seems amazing value it's best to stand back for a minute and analyse why this is so.

 

Counterfeit products can and do pose a danger to health and safety.

 

One of the main reasons that Brand Owners want to protect their products from pirates is that of security and not wanting to harm their customers. Medicines and drugs for instance all contain high quality specific ingredients in controlled doses.

 

Pirates often copy drugs and medicines by substituting other ingredients that are cheaper and untested. In many cases such 'ingredients' are water or talcum powder. This may not be harmful if they are taken through the mouth but can kill if they are injected.

 

Medications purchased through reputable sources such as Pharmacy?s are not in question but those purchased through the internet are often questionable.

 

Whilst counterfeit drugs undoubtedly have the potential to kill other pirate products merely cause temporary harm.

 

Counterfeit washing powder for instance can be harmful to skin and counterfeit toys have been know to harm children.

 

More worryingly a tendency to copy automobile parts such as brake pads, tyres and shock absorbers has led to failure and accidents.

 

Clothing and textiles too suffer from the attention of counterfeiters. In these cases it is the use of underage labour and poor working conditions that should concern buyers of such goods. Both Governments and Unions have fought for centuries to ensure fair pay and safe working conditions for employees. Suppliers of Pirate products have no such concern for their staff.

 

Impact on public services

Whilst it is not a severe problem (yet) the health services of EU member states are weakened by the need to put right any medical harm that occurs to users of fake medications and faulty pirate products.

 

One more worrying concern though is that as the suppliers of fake merchandise operate on the 'black market' they never pay health insurance. This dilutes the amount of money available to the health service of each member state making us all pay more in the long run.

Long term safety

The European Union has been sensible enough to recognise people can often be harmed by badly designed products. They ensure that everything is done to protect the consumer from poor workmanship and dangerous faults. Consumer safety markings are widely used to convey that products conform to standards.

 

Of course pirated goods come with no safety standards and no guarantee of conformity. Whilst buyers of such products can rightly expect help and assistance from health care providers if they are harmed by pirate products they will be unable to gain recompense from any other source.

Dangers to businesses

Generally speaking businesses recognise the damage that fake goods can do to their reputation and to their balance sheets.

 

In the USA there have even been cases of people being harmed by fake medication taking action against the original Brand Owner. Under the law in some progressive US States those that can should that they purchased a counterfeit in good faith are able to take action against the Brand Owner for any damages caused. It is then up to the Brand Owner concerned to prove that they did all in their power to secure the product against counterfeit attack.

Whilst this is not the case yet in Europe, Brand Owners need to recognise that if they face the risks of piracy they should take all steps to secure themselves from legal action.

 

There have been cases recently in the UK where buyers have been discouraged from purchasing certain popular clothing brands because counterfeits are so freely available. The manufacturers concerned have ceased making the goods in question (Caps, scarves and shawls) because there was little legitimate demand. The only products left on the market are all copies!

Dangers to economies

Another important fact is that with fakes in some markets running at levels of 10% and more (with software and CD's the losses can be as high as 90%) no revenue such as income tax is paid by the suppliers of counterfeit goods.

 

Subsequently we all pay much more in taxes than we need to.

Examples

Some of the more prominent news in the press recently involves music piracy. Software piracy too attracts the media because of the amount of money involved. Tens of billions of Euros are lost in these industries each and every year to illegal copies.

 

Less widely publicised though are stories involving fake toys (building bricks, dolls, electric train sets and play equipment). Fake batteries for cell phones are common in the Far East and the USA and cases of fires caused by faulty wiring and safety mechanisms have led manufacturers to recall products on occasion.

 

There have been estimates that around 50% of Viagra is not authentic. Other drugs too as well as contraceptive patches are being copied.

 

The main worry in the supply of fake "lifestyle products" concerns the increase of counterfeits in body building drugs and health care markets. Vitamin supplements, muscle promoting products and slimming aids are all products that attract the attention of the counterfeiter.