Microsoft word - position paper 2.docx

“Falsified medicines are fake medicines.”1 Spurious/Falsely Labelled/ Falsified/ Counterfeit medications are not a critical problem in Luxembourg, however they are in developing countries. In developed countries, falsified or counterfeit medicines account for less than one percent of medical sales, but in developing countries more than thirty percent of medical sales are counterfeit. There has been an estimate that approximately sixty billion Euros of false medication were sold in just 2005 worldwide. Over fifty percent of medicines purchased over the Internet using illegal sites have been found to be counterfeit. In 2009 there were over 1700 cases of SFFC’s, nearly three times the amount of cases in 2004. Luxembourg has not had a problem with SFFC’s because Luxembourg has a high income of pharmaceuticals.2 Luxembourg has also given the fifteenth highest amount of extra money given so that the countries that cannot afford these drugs will have access to them. Luxembourg gave over 500,00 dollars to this cause in 2005,3 and attended the MEDICRIME convention in which the topic of SFFC’s was brought up at which our support was shown. The falsified or counterfeit medications do not just cause harm to the drug users, but the manufacturers are losing business. The most common SFFC medications are Avastin(cancer treatment), Viagra and Cialis( Erectile Dysfunction), Truvanda and Viread(HIV/AIDS), Zidolam-N(HIV/AIDS), Alli(Weight loss), Anti-diabetics, and Metakelfin(Antimalarial).4 These medicines were SFFC’s for a range of reasons: Lack of active ingredient, smuggled, falsified product, and incorrect dosage. There are several reasons that people have to resort to SFFC’s: The cost is too high, some medical stores do not have products, counterfeiters aren’t punished, and international trade is increasing so it is much easier to do this. Luxembourg has been working very hard, though the council of Europe in order to stop this problem. For the immediate situation, in order to prevent the further spread of counterfeit drugs, a very large fine should be in order for anyone who is found to be selling false or counterfeit medications. If someone is caught a second time, they should be punished with imprisonment. Long term, the first two points brought up by the SFFC working group would work very well and they can be successful together.5 WHO should set up an intergovernmental negotiating body to prevent the continued use of SFFC’s. SFFC’s are not just a problem that affects one country; rather they affect the international community, which is why an intergovernmental negotiating body would be in order. The second necessary step in reducing the use of SFFC’s should be to find more safe and affordable medicines for those who cannot afford the medicines they need now. As one of the richest and most giving countries in the world, Luxembourg has the funds to put these plans into action. Luxembourg also is part of many groups such as the European Union and the European Court of Justice, so we possess the ally’s necessary in order to set up these ideas. 1. http://www.emea.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/special_topics/general/general_content_000186.jsp& mid=WC0b01ac058002d4e8http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/EMP_MPC_2010_1.pdf 2. http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/AnnualReport05En.pdf 3. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs275/en/ 4. http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA64/A64_16-en.pdf

Source: http://yu.edu/admissions/events/yunmun/WHO/NKest_KEST_WHO_2_YULA.pdf