Counterfeit medicine is fake medicine. It may be contaminated or contain the wrong or no active ingredient. They could have the right active ingredient but at the wrong dose. Counterfeit drugs are illegal and may be harmful to your health.
Counterfeit fentanyl pills are showing up on the streets and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers fentanyl-containing counterfeit medications a global threat.
Below are recent updates on Fentanyl Counterfeiting:
- A public warning about distributing counterfeit Percocet tablets containing fentanyl throughout El Paso County (United States) was issued on 09 Dec 2019.
- Recently seizures of counterfeit tablets have occurred in El Paso County, wherein the tablets actually contained Fentanyl. These Fentanyl tablets are marked to mimic the authentic narcotic prescription medication (most of which was in the form of counterfeit oxycodone and Percocet prescription tablets) and have led to multiple overdoses and deaths.
- Twelve people overdosed and three people died in first week of Dec in Berks County due to Fentanyl Counterfeiting.
- The FDA issued an alert that a counterfeit version of the cancer drug BiCNU (carmustine for injection) has been found in some foreign countries. The legitimate product is approved for treatment of brain cancer, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma (Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s).
- FDA also warned doctors that a phony version of Avastin (bevacizumab) for cancer called Altuzan contained no active ingredient and was being distributed in the U.S.
- Opioids are involved in between eight and nine out of every 10 drug-induced deaths reported in Europe.
What is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid and a prescription only drug that is also made and used illegally. Fentanyl is roughly 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. In fact, it is the most potent opioid pain reliever available for use in medical treatment.
Medical uses for fentanyl include:
- Anesthesia for patients undergoing heart surgery or for patients with poor heart function.
- Management of breakthrough cancer pain in patients who are already receiving opioid medication for underlying, persistent pain.
- Pain management in patients who have persistent, moderate-to-severe chronic pain requiring continuous, around-the-clock opioids.
- In patients who are already taking narcotic analgesics or who are already opioid-tolerant.
- It can be used intravenously, intramuscularly, spinally, or as an epidural (into a space at the bottom of the spinal cord)
How does Fentanyl works?
Fentanyl works by binding to the body’s opioid receptors, which are found in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions. Its effects include extreme happiness, drowsiness, nausea, confusion, constipation, sedation, tolerance, addiction, respiratory depression and arrest, unconsciousness, coma, and death.
Fentanyl and its analogues come in several forms including powder, blotter paper, patch, tablets, sprays, and liquid.
Fentanyl Counterfeiting:
Illegal fentanyl is sold as a powder, dropped on blotter paper like small candies, in eye droppers or nasal sprays, or made into pills that look like real prescription opioids. Illegal fentanyl is being mixed with other drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and MDMA. It is also appearing in the form of counterfeit, or look-a-like, tablets sold as prescription painkillers such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, Percocet, as well as the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. This is especially dangerous because people are often unaware that fentanyl has been added.
The high potency of fentanyl greatly increases risk of overdose, especially if a person who uses drugs is unaware that a powder or pill contains it.
Fentanyl can be lethal and is deadly even at very low doses. A lethal dose of Fentanyl is estimated to be about two milligrams, but can vary based on an individual’s body size, tolerance, amount of previous usage, and other factors. When people overdose on fentanyl, their breathing can slow or stop. This can decrease the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain, a condition called hypoxia. Hypoxia can lead to a coma and permanent brain damage, and even death.
What are the most common drugs that are involved in counterfeit transactions?
- Erectile dysfunction drugs such as Pfizer’s Viagra (sildenafil) and Eli Lilly’s Cialis (tadalafil)
- Xanax (alprazolam) and Ativan (lorazepam) used for anxiety
- Pain drugs Percocet (acetaminophen and oxycodone) and Vicodin (acetaminophen and hydrocodone) are also commonly counterfeited.
- Generic antibiotics, tuberculosis drugs, AIDS/HIV medications, and malaria medicines are also targeted. Infectious diseases are rampant in the developing world where there is little regulatory control, and these drugs are often acquired in desperation.
Other drug targeted for fake manufacturing include:
- Antipsychotics: Zyprexa (olanzapine) and Risperdal (risperidone)
- Antidepressants such as Zoloft (sertraline)
- Lipitor (atorvastatin), a blockbuster cholesterol lowering medicine
- The counterfeit ADHD drug Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine), previously in high demand because of a national shortage, arrived in the U.S. through rogue Internet pharmacies.
Read below post to know more on counterfeit medication and its prevention – https://allaboutpharmacovigilance.org/be-aware-of-counterfeit-medicine/
Leave a Reply