Fake Viagra: Organized Crime's New Goods
Police in Spain have reportedly recovered over 160,000 fake Viagra pills, says Typically Spanish.
The report is the latest in a line of international reports that suggest fake Viagra may be a growing industry.
These fakes are not contained by region either. The Miami Herald reported that customs officers at Miami International Airport intercepted 21,600 pills earlier this month. The pills were in a shipment from India.
Presumably the drugs are not being sold from respectable outlets, instead being traded on the black market for those either too embarrassed to admit to their erectile problems, seeking to use the drug for recreational purposes, or perhaps hoping to get the drug cheaper.
What is worrying, however, are the health risks. GlobalPost recently ran an story on the fake drug trade in Bangkok. As one part stated:
"It might contain the correct active ingredient, but the wrong dose. Or it might contain nothing at all," said Clemence Gautier, consultant at the Bangkok-based law firm Tilleke & Gibbins. The firm specializes in prosecuting counterfeiters for clients that include pharmaceutical firms Pfizer, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline.
The worry is even more potent for other types of drug, such as malaria medication.
The GlobalPost article goes on to say that around 77 percent of these fake meds are thought to be produced in China, and that the U.S. government is helping the fight against these drugs.
So, if you needed another reason to not buy cheap Viagra off of a man standing on a street corner, you probably just found it.
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Huffington Post | Adam Taylor
First Posted: 10-28-09 12:26 PM | Updated: 10-28-09 01:11 PM