The excellent International Policy Network has published new research on the perils posed by fake drugs. It is very alarming stuff:
The global trade in fake medicines is vast and growing. It results in millions of people unwittingly consuming cement, talcum powder, sawdust, paint and an array of other toxic or inert substances. It thwarts efforts to cure disease and worsens illness. And perhaps worst of all, it results in the emergence of drug resistant strains of diseases ranging from AIDS and malaria to tuberculosis and bird flu. Amongst other things, their work highlights the fact that up to a third of medicines in poor countries are counterfeit.
