How Safe Is the Medicine You're Taking?

Caution! The medicine or multivitamin you took this morning may be dangerous to your health!

Recently, Baxter’s blood thinner Heparin, made with active ingredients from China, appears to be tainted by a mysterious look-alike substance.  Already 19 U.S. deaths have occurred and 800 serious drug reactions.

In the Fall of 2007 one million counterfeit OneTouch diabetes test strips went on sale in 700 pharmacies in 35 states.

Are our prescription and over-the-counter drugs safe or not?  Roger Williams, CEO of Pharmacopeia, warns Americans, “should be quite concerned.”

More than 150 million Americans take vitamin and mineral supplements regularly, but according to U.S. News and World Report those tablets don’t always contain all the active ingredients promised on the label.  You may be getting more or less of the ingredient you paid for!

What should we do?

Know that the best pharmaceutical products are still made in the USA. When a drug is imported from outside the U.S., the FDA cannot assure their safety.  In July 2004 the FDA discovered one website advertising Viagra, Lipitor and Ambien as Canadian generics.  The drugs were found to be fake and dangerous.

According to an industry publication, “one in seven drugs worldwide is fake - that’s $35 billion annually in counterfeit drug sales.”

Our drug safety net is not what it used to be since we started importing pharmaceuticals from other countries like China and India.

U.S. News and World Report claims, “between 2,000 and 3,000 overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers that sell to the United States are registered with the FDA. However, some of those have not been inspected in eight to 10 years . . ."

To put things into perspective, in the last five years, Chinese pharmaceutical imports into the U.S. have more than doubled, to $698 million. Half of the aspirin used around the world comes from China, as do 35% of the painkiller acetaminophen and almost all synthetic vitamin C.

Examine pills and packaging when you obtain a new prescription. Make sure the drug company stamp is correct and readable on the pill or tablet. Check the sticker on the pill bottle that tells you what to look for.

Note if the medicine tastes different, dissolves differently or has different effects. If something is off, go back to the drug store and speak to the pharmacist.  Call the manufacturer and complain.

Recognize the risk you take when buying drugs over the Internet. The Internet has created a marketplace for unapproved medical products, illegal prescribing and products marketed with fraudulent health claims, according to the FDA.   

In May 2007 the FDA warned that people who bought Xenical, a weight-loss drug, over the Internet received pills that looked identical to the actual pill but contained talc and starch. 

Think about this before you punch in that pharmaceutical order over the Internet. According to MarkMonitor, 38% of E-mail hawking Internet drugs come from China; 24% from the Russian Federation and just 2% came from Canada.

•You know you’re on an illegal site when they dispense prescription drugs without the necessity of a valid doctor’s prescription.

•When you buy medication from a questionable web site, you’re taking a risk.  The drugs can be outdated, contaminated, too potent or not potent enough and improperly manufactured.

•Beware of web sites that claim dietary supplements will prevent, treat or cure any disease. Some of these websites will tell patients not to undergo surgery, chemotherapy or other prescribed legitimate treatments. 

Our drug safety net is frayed at the edges. It’s up to you to check to be sure your medicines are as safe as possible.

John   

Email John:   johnsblog@teshmedia.com

My new book Intelligence for Your Life: Powerful Lessons For Personal Growth is now on sale.  You can purchase a copy online by visiting Barnes & Noble.