The Minister of Health has decided to better fight against fraud on health products. In 2012, seizures of counterfeit medicines in France increased by 45%.
Marisol Touraine tackles the problem of counterfeit medicines. It was accompanied by Nicole BRICQ, Minister of Foreign Trade, that the Minister of Health announced the strengthening of the cooperation of their services to better fight against fraud on health products.
On July 5, the General Directorate of Customs and Indirect Rights (DGDDI) and the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (Ansm) signed a cooperation protocol. It makes it possible to strengthen reciprocal exchanges of information and facilitate the transmission of operational information. It also covers the identification of health products during customs checks and the performance of checks in ANSM laboratories. It complements the various actions undertaken within the framework of the Medicines Observatory and the Medifraude network, which constitute monitoring systems.
In addition, the two ministers are announcing next fall a first national information campaign on the sale of drugs on the Internet. Because today this phenomenon is becoming more and more widespread, endangering, according to them, the health of consumers.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in two drugs sold on the Internet is counterfeit. And, in 2012, seizures of counterfeit medicines in France increased by 45%. “These counterfeits are dangerous for the health of consumers. They can contain active ingredients in overdose, underdose or toxic substances. In addition, counterfeits represent a threat to our businesses and our jobs ”. This is why, for its part, France has chosen to strictly regulate electronic commerce in medicines.
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