Being frugal is the ideal practice to help cash-strapped families cope with rising price of commodities.This would often involve having to choose the least expensive product or goods to stretch the family’s meager budget. However, is it wise to be thrifty all the time?
Chystelle Young pours down the 14k worth counterfeit medicines on the floor in her Facebook Page post. (Facebook Reels)
Chrystelle Young, also known on social media as Kadya Probinsyana, shares her unfortunate experience when she fell victim to counterfeit medicines.
Chrystelle lives in a remote area in Ginatilan in Cebu. She owns a sari-sari store where she sells basic items, including over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to her neighbors. Late in September, Chrystelle recalls being visited by six motorcycle-riding men who were selling to sari-sari stores.
“Nagpaila-ila to sila nga taga Unilab daw sila unya sila na daw mo-bisita kada remote areas para dili na daw mi mahasol og adto sa lungsod mopalit.(They introduce themselves as being from Unilab and they are going to remote areas to provide residents the convenience of bringing medicines closer to them without having to go to the town),” says Chrystelle.
She even remembers the men wearing ID cards.
Chrystelle fell for their smooth sales talk. “Maayo man gud pud sila storya, mo-sales talk. (They are really good in their sales talk.)”
She bought 18 kinds of medicines in various quantities totaling P14,400. She also realized belatedly afterwards that what she received from the men was an order slip and not an official receipt.
It was a week later when she realized that the medicines she bought were fake, after noticing the subtle differences in the packaging.
“Nakapalit man ko og stock medicines sa wala pa ko kapalit nila maong nakabantay ko sa deperensya (I earlier bought medicines as my supplies at home, which is why I noticed the difference when I compared them),” she recalls.
Chrystelle says she was glad that she was not able to sell any of the fake medicines yet in her sari-sari store. “Maayo gane ka’y wala pa ko kabaligya or nakapanghatag sa akong parente ani (It was good that I was not able to sell any of them yet or give some of it to my relatives,” she says.
FDA warning
In an interview during the Kapihan sa PIA program in Cebu hosted by the Philippine Information Agency, Food and Drug Regulation Officer (FDRO) II of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Salome Largo, warned the public about unscrupulous people peddling cheap medicines.
“Do not buy (medicines) from peddlers. They do not issue receipts,” Largo said.
She also discouraged consumers from buying medicines or even cosmetic products online. She said a receipt should also be needed should there be any complaints about the purchased medicines.
Fake (L) Paracetamol Biogesic and (R) Paracetamol Neozep Forte compared to individually cut original medicines. (Photos from Chyrstelle Young)
Fake (L) Decolgen and (R) Alaxan capsule compared to individually cut original medicines. (Photos from Chyrstelle Young)
Real vs fake medicines
Chrystelle shared the following differences she noted upon inspecting the counterfeit medicines she bought from the peddlers:
For Biogesic, there is no Unilab watermark on the fake packaging unlike the original one. There is also more space around the tablet inside the packaging of the counterfeit medicines.
For Alaxan, the capsule container of the fake version is thinner. The texture of the fake medicine’s packaging contains thick dots, while the original packaging has a diamond texture.
For Neozep, the fake version has faded or thinner diamond pad texture on its packaging.
For Decolgen, the color of the fake tablets is darker than the original.
She added that the price of the fake medicines were around P2 lower than the legitimate medicines.
However, Largo said that consumers will not be able to fully determine on their own whether the medicines they buy are counterfeit or not.
“We cannot tell if the product is counterfeit unless it undergoes laboratory analysis,” she said.
The safest way is to buy medicines from FDA-approved outlets such as licensed pharmacies and groceries with FDA permits, she said.
“Mas masakit pa hinuon kay wala ta kabalo na basin naa pa diay to’y lain ingredients nga gisagol (The danger there is we don’t know if they mixed those medicines with other ingredients that may be risky to a person’s health),” said Largo.
Some of the counterfeit medicines may contain active ingredients, while others may not.
Largo emphasized that if there are less than 80 percent of the active ingredients in the medicine, these are not advisable for human consumption as it may not be effective in treating diseases.
According to the FDA website, the counterfeit medicines or pharmaceutical products may either (1) contain the wrong ingredients; (2) have no active ingredients; or (3) have the correct or active ingredients but are in insufficient amounts.
These can all cause serious adverse effects on health, trigger other diseases, be drug resistant, or worse, death.
Largo also advised against buying medicines from sari-sari stores that do not obtain FDA permits.
Is a sari-sari store violating a law by selling medicines?
A sari-sari store may be allowed to sell medicines. According to Largo, a sari-sari store owner who wants to sell medicines is only allowed to sell non-prescription or OTC medicines and they should observe the following conditions:
The owner should obtain a permit or license from the FDA to sell OTC medicines.
The owner should tap a registered pharmacist to supervise the selling of the non-prescription medicines.
If a sari-sari store fails to meet the said conditions, they may face imprisonment or fined between P100,000 to P5,000,000, depending on the degree of violation.
Largo said that in Central Visayas, the imposed fine is in the range of P50,000 to P100,000.
Report to authorities
If a consumer suspects he or she has bought counterfeit medicines, they can report this to FDA through [email protected], or they may visit the FDA office and bring with them the medicines and official receipt they received upon purchase of the medicines.
Largo added that pharmacies are required to pull out their stocks of medicines that will expire in six months. This is to ensure that the medicines sold by pharmacies are safe.
Disheartening, but significant experience
Chrystelle said it was a disheartening experience for her to have fallen victim to counterfeit medicines.
“Sakit pamalandungon nga nailad ko (It is painful to think how I’ve been deceived),” she said.
From that incident, she learned that she will be more discerning about the items she buys.
“Dili na ko basta motuo anang naay mo-offer nako og bisan unsa nga product ma-barato o mahal kay ang uban fake (I will no longer easily believe if there are offers, regardless whether it is cheap or expensive because some of those might be fake),” she said. (JAT/PIA 7)
