IPSF Anti-Counterfeit Drugs Campaign
The Anti-Counterfeit Drugs Campaign, launched in August 2007, is one o
f the newest IPSF campaign. This campaign serves as a milestone as it is the first resource campaign on counterfeit medicines geared towards health care students. The main objective of this project is to increase the general awareness among health care students about the risks associated with counterfeit and substandard medicines.
Counterfeit and substandard medicines are a serious and growing public health concern. A counterfeit medicine is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source. Forging can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit medicines may include products with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, which can be toxic, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging. However, the appearance of a counterfeit medicine usually mimics that of the original one.
Pharmacists, physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals play an important role in educating the public about the risks and dangers of counterfeit and substandard medicines. This campaign aims to increase awareness among health care students and empower them with information about the threats of counterfeit and substandard medicines to public health. By targeting health care students, it is expected that as future healthcare professionals, they will continually combat counterfeit drugs throughout their career.