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War on Drugs
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| tathi |
This is much more important that the War on Illicit drugs :rolleyes:
Newscientist:
Imagine the outcry if 500 people in a developed country such as the US or UK died after being given a fake medicine. Then consider that in the early 1990s a similar number of children died of kidney failure in India, Haiti, Bangladesh and Nigeria after taking fake paracetamol syrup contaminated with a toxic solvent. Barely anyone noticed bar their families and a few doctors.
Their deaths represent just one documented case of a trade in illicit pharmaceuticals that claims countless lives each year. Victims, mostly among the world's poorest, unwittingly buy fake medicines that often contain toxic substances or little or no active ingredients, yet purport to combat the most common preventable killers, including malaria, tuberculosis and typhoid.
The scale of the problem is laid bare this month in a review published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases (vol 6, p 602). In south-east Asia, for example, half of all medicine sold is thought to be fake, much of it counterfeit versions of new anti-malaria drugs based on the molecule artemisinin, which many believe will be vital in curbing the spread of the disease. In Cambodia, a survey revealed that 71 per cent of the artemisinin-derived drug artesunate sold is fake, while across south-east Asia, 53 per cent of artesunate packs sold in 2002 and 2003 were faked, says lead author Paul Newton of the University of Oxford.
"We're desperately worried that these counterfeit derivatives will follow the real ones into Africa," Newton says. "The very high prevalence of counterfeit artesunate in Asia has emphasised the importance of tackling this trade." Unless it can be stopped, he warns, there is little point in spending vast amounts of money developing new drugs, as they will only be immediately undermined by ineffective or toxic counterfeits.
The World Health Organization is so worried by the trend that this November in Bonn, Germany, it will launch an International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce, or IMPACT. The aim is to unite all parties involved in tackling in the problem, from pharmaceutical companies, drug regulators and distributors through to Interpol and customs officers.
Experts fear the trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals kills more people and causes more harm than the trade in illegal narcotics. And it isn't a great deal less lucrative. In 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration estimated that worldwide sales of fake drugs exceeded $3.5 billion, but other estimates suggest the figure is 10 times as high. The Center for Medicines in the Public Interest, a charity backed by the US pharmaceutical industry, predicts that global sales of fake drugs will reach $75 billion by 2010 unless the trade is curtailed.
However, no one can yet be sure how many fake drugs are sold. The pharmaceutical industry first raised the alarm 20 years ago, but law enforcement agencies, governments and charities that donate medicines have paid scant attention. As too have researchers. In his review, Newton found that just 43 academic papers have been published on fake drugs, only one of which used scientifically acceptable methodology.
What's more, a survey he conducted in Laos revealed that two out of three pharmacists and four of five consumers didn't even realise fake drugs existed. The reality is that this trade threatens to undermine global attempts to combat infectious diseases that kill 14 million people, 90 per cent of them in developing countries.
IMPACT will initially focus its efforts in five areas: anti-counterfeiting technology; harmonising legislation; tougher enforcement; strengthening regulatory agencies; and better publicity warning consumers about fakes, says co-founder Howard Zucker, who is the WHO's assistant director-general for health technology and pharmaceuticals.
Strengthening regulatory agencies is key, argues Newton, especially in the one-third of countries worldwide where they barely function. "If you don't have a functioning drug regulatory agency, you can't inspect the drug supply, enforce border checks, prosecute counterfeiters or root out bribes and corruption."
Zucker agrees this is a priority. "If there's no enforcement, nothing else has any teeth," he says. So too does the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which spends millions of dollars each year providing drugs to treat these major diseases. Spokeswoman Rosie Vanek says the Global Fund has already approved requests for technical assistance to improve national drug quality-control labs and bolster regulatory authorities. Vanek also stresses that the Global Fund has established measures to "ensure to the greatest possible degree the authenticity of commodities purchased with Global Fund resources".
But Valerio Reggi of the WHO, who will coordinate IMPACT from Geneva, Switzerland, says it won't be easy to root out corruption, especially in countries where inspectors are paid so little that it is worth the risk of taking bribes to turn a blind eye to the trade.
Newton also says that donor agencies must subsidise life-saving drugs so that the real versions price counterfeiters out of the market. "The key is to beat them at their own game." This strategy is supported by the Global Fund, which provides drugs either free or at a small fee.
The pharmaceutical industry is less convinced, however. "As long as the cost per unit of a counterfeit is lower than the street price of the real thing, there will be counterfeits," says Harvey Bale, director of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers. He points out that paracetamol (acetaminophen) and the antibiotics ampicillin and amoxycillin are the most widely counterfeited drugs in developing countries, even though they are also the cheapest.
A number of initiatives are to be unveiled in Germany. One option IMPACT will pursue is to give each packet of drugs a code number that can only be read when the seal is broken. The consumer can phone the factory with the number to check their medicine is genuine. Zucker says the precise details are secret for now, but will be revealed in Bonn.
Others include off-the-shelf legislation that nations could adopt to combat counterfeiting, while IMPACT will launch a study to assess the growing threat of fake medicines sold on the internet, and another to gauge the scale of counterfeiting in Africa.
Newton warns not to underestimate the counterfeiters, as their production techniques have become increasingly sophisticated. Often they include small amounts of the real drug to make them more difficult to spot than if they contained no active drug. This practice that promotes the development of drug resistance. "It means that bacteria or parasites see very low concentrations of the active ingredient, enough to select for resistance," says Newton. That could mean future generations of drugs could become obsolete.
Fake packaging is also increasingly sophisticated, says Newton. Some of the artesunate packs he found in Asia even carried holograms like those on the originals. "At the moment, the counterfeiters are winning." But Zucker is more upbeat, and sees the creation of IMPACT as evidence that there is at last the political and international will to do something. "My perception is that there's momentum."
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125683.900?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19125683.900 |
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| tathi |
| quote: | In 1995 in Niger, some 60,000 people were inoculated with fake meningitis vaccine after authorities received a donation of 88,000 doses of purported Pasteur Merieux and SmithKline Beecham vaccines from neighbouring Nigeria. The vaccines contained no traces of the true active ingredient.
192,000 patients in China reportedly died over the course of 2001 after taking fake drugs. In the same year Chinese authorities closed 1300 factories while investigating 480,000 cases of counterfeit drugs worth $57 million. In 2004 they arrested 22 manufacturers of grossly substandard infant milk powder and closed three factories after the death of more than 50 infants.
In North America, there have been recent reports of various counterfeits: human growth hormone; atorvastatin, which is used to lower cholesterol and treat heart disease; erythropoietin, used to alleviate anaemia; filgrastim, used to treat people who have had either leukaemia or a bone marrow transplant; and the anti-cancer drugs germcitabine and paclitaxel.
Antiretrovirals, a long-term drug therapy that helps stop people with HIV from developing AIDS, are already being faked in central Africa. So far, counterfeit versions of the drug combinations stavudine-lamivudine-nevirapine and lamivudine-zidovudine have been identified. |
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| occrider |
| Well, sorry to say this, but it's Africa. If the world is willing to allow wholesale genocide to carried out I doubt they'll lose any sleep over this. |
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| DJ Shibby |
How about the thousands and thousands of lives ended or ruined by legal drugs pushed through by the FDA to make a quick buck?
You know what incident I'm talking about.
The FDA is almost as corrupt as the DEA.
Look up Ephedra and Safrole and Ergot.
Look up what the FDA claims the reason is for their removal from store shealves:
"They cause cancer."
"They cause irreversible damage to the chardiovascular system."
So why are they suddenly banned now?
Because they're potential pre-cursors to making black-market prototypes.
It's crazy how much is covered-up, and how much we're lied to, on both the legal and illicit spectrums in this country. The precedent was set in the 40s and 50s and with that Roswell trash (UFO coverups... of course there weren't UFOs, but there sure were military vehicles and spy jets that they didn't want us knowing about... sounds like Russia to me); today I think we know that anything the government says or claims is most likely bull. |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ Shibby
You know what incident I'm talking about.
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i knew a 22 yr. old kid that had a massive heart attack (he lived) underway because he was popping Stacker II's like candy. |
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| LazFX |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
i knew a 22 yr. old kid that had a massive heart attack (he lived) underway because he was popping Stacker II's like candy. |
I have been taking Ephedra for about 2 years now. Love it!! As far as I know, only stupid idiots that do not respect the power of suppliments are the ones that will have a heart attack. As with any drug over or under the counter, you must respect.
P.S. Ephedra is not banned any longer, you can buy it as long as it is mixed with with other supps. **THE FDA did not mention this court case at all, after all the hub bub when the media was talking about, note that most people I talk to still think it is outlawed. ;)
With a good diet, excercise and my little black diamonds,
| quote: | Per recent court rulings awaiting possible appeal, it is recommended not to exceed 10mgs of ephedra per dose. Do not use if you are pregnant or nursing. Consult a physician before using this product if you have, or have a family history of high blood pressure, heart, liver, thyroid or psychiatric disease, diabetes, anemia, nervousness, anxiety, depression, seizure disorder, stroke or difficulty in urination due to prostate enlargement. Do not use if you are taking an MAO or MAOI inhibitor or any other dietary supplement, prescription drug or over-the-counter drug containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine. Exceeding recommended dosage may cause serious adverse side effects including heart attack and stroke. Discontinue use and call a physician immediately if you experience rapid heartbeat, dizziness, severe headache, shortness of breath, or other similar symptoms. Individuals who are allergic or hypersensitive to ephedrine or caffeine should avoid the use of this product. Not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. The maximum dosage of ephedrine for a healthy adult is no more than 100 mg in a 24 hour period for not more than 12 weeks. Improper use of this product may be hazardous to a person's health. 580mg Consisting of: Sida Cordifolia Extract (leaves) "supplying 25 mg. Ephedrine Group Alkaloids", Acacia Rigidula 70% (leaves), Theobroma Cocoa Extract, Phenylethylamine HCL, Citrus Aurantium Extract 30% (fruit), Green Tea Extract (leaves), Yohimbe Extact (bark), Naringen (fruit), 6-7 Dihydroxy bergamottin (fruit).
Caffeine (anhydrous) 80mg
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I have lost a combined total weight of 45lbs in the past 1 year. Dropped from a size 46 to a size 36 and am really happy. Better looks and a load of better sex!! Plus I do not look like a ing fat lazy ass slob any more. ha ha
IMHO: The people that killed over from Ephedra were all idiots and or had other conditions that were affected by the increase of activity. Thats why they made it available again. The appeal looks like it will fail due to all the deaths had other circumstances. But like with anything, MODERATION. one could die from eating nothing but Mcdonalds.... so is that an excuse to ban Big Macs?? |
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| DJ Shibby |
| quote: | Originally posted by LazFX
I have been taking Ephedra for about 2 years now. Love it!! As far as I know, only stupid idiots that do not respect the power of suppliments are the ones that will have a heart attack. As with any drug over or under the counter, you must respect.
P.S. Ephedra is not banned any longer, you can buy it as long as it is mixed with with other supps. **THE FDA did not mention this court case at all, after all the hub bub when the media was talking about, note that most people I talk to still think it is outlawed. ;)
With a good diet, excercise and my little black diamonds,
I have lost a combined total weight of 45lbs in the past 1 year. Dropped from a size 46 to a size 36 and am really happy. Better looks and a load of better sex!! Plus I do not look like a ing fat lazy ass slob any more. ha ha
IMHO: The people that killed over from Ephedra were all idiots and or had other conditions that were affected by the increase of activity. Thats why they made it available again. The appeal looks like it will fail due to all the deaths had other circumstances. But like with anything, MODERATION. one could die from eating nothing but Mcdonalds.... so is that an excuse to ban Big Macs?? |
Ephedra will be effectively rebanned on October 10th, I believe. |
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| LazFX |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ Shibby
Ephedra will be effectively rebanned on October 10th, I believe. |
Then I had better buy a few cases ;) |
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| NeoPhono |
Actually, the FDA is notoriously slow and difficult in approving drugs, although that has improved drastically over the past two decades. That has especially changed with the addition of the "fast track" process, which only a select few drugs are accepted into.
The thing we have to realize is that eveyone reacts to drugs differently. Clincial trials are already ridiculously expensive in the US, approaching the 1 billion dollar mark for FDA approval. No matter how big your sample size is, there will always be people who have adverse reactions to the drug that you won't find until they take it. No drug is perfectly safe, and unforunatly until that one person who doesn't do well on the drug takes it, there's no way of knowing what can happen.
The question we have to ask ourselves is if the fear of that one (or few) patients that may have a reaction to a drug worth delaying or not approving the drug for all those who would benefit from it. I personally think COX-2 inhibitors are over-rated as "normal" nonsteroidals are just as effective, but when it comes to other drugs that may have a great benefit to a large amount of the population, I think the risks are worth it.
The thing to remember is every drug has side-effects. The question you have to ask yourself is if the possible benefits outweigh the negative possibilities. Increasing the cost and time the FDA takes to approve drugs is not what is beneficial to the consumer. If you'd like a good idea as to why drugs are so expensive in the US, just look at the money drug companies must invest in the approval process alone. Don't get me wrong, the FDA has a job to do, but that is to get "safe" drugs to the population as cheaply and quickly as possible. However, it is up to the patient to decide whether the possibilty of unkown side-effects will prevent them from using a drug. |
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| Temperate |
| quote: | Originally posted by occrider
Well, sorry to say this, but it's Africa. If the world is willing to allow wholesale genocide to carried out I doubt they'll lose any sleep over this. |
Being totally serious about this, even though it may seem odd:
Is it because they are black? |
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| NeoPhono |
| quote: | Originally posted by Temperate
Being totally serious about this, even though it may seem odd:
Is it because they are black? |
I think it's because they don't have much weight in the "world economy." Why would a government want to put money into Africa if they don't think they'll get anything in return? They aren't powerful consumer/spenders and there really isn't anything of extreme value (besides minerals/ores) coming out of Africa, so I just think they don't see it as a good investment. |
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| Temperate |
| quote: | Originally posted by NeoPhono
I think it's because they don't have much weight in the "world economy." Why would a government want to put money into Africa if they don't think they'll get anything in return? They aren't powerful consumer/spenders and there really isn't anything of extreme value (besides minerals/ores) coming out of Africa, so I just think they don't see it as a good investment. |
If that's true, that is a horrible philosophy. We are going to have a far more globalized economy very shortly, I believe. The world is going to be much smaller and if we don't pitch in to help the little guys out, everything will go down the crap chute. |
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