By Sandra Halteh
AMMAN - Jordanian officials denied recent allegations brought by the Al-Watan Kuwaiti-based newspaper about confiscating $10 million value counterfeited cancer-related medications in the Palestinian territories bought from Jordan. These accusations have opened the door wide for discussions about counterfeited medicines in the Kingdom.
Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) Public Relations and Customer Service Director Hiam Dabbas refuted all allegations brought by the Kuwaiti publication saying that they are groundless claims.
In Jordan, real efforts to encounter counterfeit drugs started during the last five years by conducting regular raids that target pharmacies around the country. In addition, stricter measures were and are still being conducted by the Jordan Customs Department to prevent such products from entering the country.
Head of Jordan Pharmacists Association (JPA) Taher Shakhsheer noted that the counterfeit medicines that have been confiscated in 2007 were estimated to amount to JD12 million.
“The most common counterfeit medications are those with high demand and expensive prices such as sexual stimulants, psychiatric drugs, heart medications, diet pills and antibiotics,” Shakhsheer told ag-IP-news Agency.
According to Shakhsheer most counterfeit drugs are imported to Jordan mainly from China and India.
In addition, JFDA is conducting its role by intensifying efforts to fight such harmful dugs to the people’s health.
“Suspected medications will be subject to testing and if proved to be forged they will be immediately destroyed,” Dabbas pointed out.
Unlike some other countries, Dabbas stressed that shipments that pass through the transit with counterfeited drugs are also subject to the same procedure.
According to JFDA, around 150 out of 1700 pharmacies throughout the Kingdom were exposed to the closure penalty after proven to deal with counterfeit medicines.
Such high number of pharmacies in a small country like Jordan raised questions by many regarding the essential need for such a high number and the necessity to regulate and control their work.
Meanwhile, Shakhsheer called for amending public health law in Jordan to impose the severest penalty against any person who trades with counterfeit medicines.
At the same time, officials believe that a great share of responsibility is laid upon the shoulders of the citizens.
“We urge patients to contact JFDA or any other related organizations when noticing a change in their medications such as the shape and color of the tablets or bottles, the design of the package, the medical effect of such medications and most importantly the unreasonable cut on their prices in addition to paying a special attention to the expiration date,” Dabbas explained.
Moreover, any patient should take notice of the JPA’s seal on the medication’s package and should refuse to buy it if that seal doesn’t clearly appear on it.
Dabbas emphasized the need for raising pubic awareness of the deadly consequences of the counterfeit drugs through different means of media such as television promotions and programs in addition to press coverage of this vital issue.
Dabbas stressed on the importance of educating the pharmacists as well of how to effectively detect counterfeit drugs.
“We call upon all local and regional institutions which deal with the protection of Intellectual Property Rights to conduct training courses and workshops in order to raise the awareness of the inspectors of how to effectively seize and detect such medications,” Dabbas stated.
She urged all Jordanian Authorities such as Jordan Customs Department, JPA, the Parliament in addition to the JFDA to work together and combine all efforts to fight counterfeiting.
Pharmaceutical experts expressed the need for stricter and severer penalties that