International Conference of Francophone Pharmacists calls for global access to safe medication on World Health Day

“Understanding the quality of medications one takes is as important as early detection of various illnesses as it can save your life, because access to adequately-tested, transported and stored medication is really at the core of ensuring a chance for real treatment versus exasperation and potential lethalness of certain diseases,” he added.

“At the international level, the reason we want to make sure authorized medications are recognized in this field is simply because allowing counterfeits or substandard products means allowing people to consume products of unknown quality or deadly medication,” added the Conference’s President Jean Parot.”

Nassour insisted that pharmacists need to be at the forefront of respecting the law and ensuring the protection of patient health, “which is a prime human cause.”

Statistics on the availability of counterfeit products in Lebanon generally put the country at the higher end of global averages.

“This is especially dangerous as far as medications are concerned since Lebanon is also flooded with parallel imports, which are original products brought into the country outside the supervision of internationally-licensed local representatives who ensure quality transportation and storage conditions to safeguard efficacy and lifespan,” said Nassour.

Worldwide, copies of medications for which the global patent has not yet expired are present in countries which do not respect Intellectual Property Rights laws. These do not have American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medicines Agency (EMEA) approvals, and may be of unknown quality.

How can the public tell the difference? Both Nassour and Parot strongly advise checking the labels for potential signs, ensuring products are stamped with a specific Lebanese Medicine Importers Society hologram, and raising questions about the quality of medications they are prescribed.

“I would like to call on all to be vigilant and aware in order to reject any attempts to gamble with their health with counterfeit or questionable medications,” concluded Nassour. “Your pharmacist is your guide and is entrusted with safeguarding your health by providing scientifically adequate advice and service, so don’t hesitate to ask for more information about the quality of your drugs.”