Check your Medicines: Fake or Genuine!

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Few months back, there has been a lot of furore about the fake eggs sold in the market. Then, there came lots of videos shared by the experts and non-expert netizens on the same explaining how the eggs can be tested for their genuinity! The vegetarians can ignore fake eggs but can anyone avoid medicines? You will be shocked to know that as per the FIICI report, 25% of Medicines sold in India are fake. The counterfeit medicines have flooded Indian market.

The average life expectancy of the people are increasing and proportionately there is an increase in the time of life suffered from diseases and other health conditions. In such a situation, people are taking more and more medicines without confirming its genuinity. 

So, how a layman buying medicine from a local pharmacy will know that he/she is not buying fake medicines? How to check that you’re getting a genuine medicine from your pharmacist? The fake medicines will look almost same like their genuine counterparts when it comes to the shape, size, colour and even packaging. 

The best way to detect fake drug is through chemical analysis. However, the following points will help you to check whether you have got a genuine or fake medicine-

• Visual inspection of the medicine before buying is the first step even if you are not an expert. So, first check if there is any tampering with the product.
• Be careful if there is any spelling error in the medicine name, unusual font, size or print colour is used compared to your regular medicines.
• Always cross check the legibility of the given information on both the packages – primary and secondary. It can be expiry date, batch number and manufacturer’s address (also check if the address is traceable).
• If there is a noticeable number stumped in the middle which was not visible earlier in your regular medicine. Always consult with your pharmacist and doctor before consuming such medicines. 

We do have a bar code technology to track and trace the drugs but it is not everyone’s cup of tea to identify the real bar code. There are also apps for the same but there is no awareness about this at the layman level.

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