Last Thursday Pfizer and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy teamed up to issue a warning to the public about the dangers of counterfeit drugs, and launched a website and a series of YouTube videos to educate consumers. Since Pfizer stands to lose millions in sales due to counterfeiting, this might seem like a self-interested campaign, but there are absolutely real and serious health concerns associated with fake prescription medications, and Viagra is a common target for counterfeiters. Counterfeit drugs aren't just sugar pills made to look like the real deal. Some would be a lot less dangerous if they were. Counterfeits may contain the actual drug they purport to be - but it could be too much, too little, or another drug altogether, so it's impossible to know if you're getting a correct dose of medication. This is illustrated by the recent bust of a counterfeit Viagra ring. You might expect the real drug content to run low, but in this case, analysis showed that the tablets contained 8 percent more sildenafil than genuine pills. For a 50mg tablet, that would work out to 4mg, which might not seem like a lot, but it's hard to say what effect that could have.
Then there's everything else that makes its way into these imposter meds. As you can imagine, quality control is not a high priority for these folks: "Counterfeit medicines are often produced in unsanitary conditions by people without any medical or scientific background," said Patrick Ford, Pfizer's head of global security in the Americas. The medications are cut with unidentified fillers and may be contaminated with heavy metals and toxins, including rat poison.
Pfizer's message is an important one: When it comes to prescription medications, the only way to be sure that you're getting a safe product is to acquire it from a reputable source - i.e. a licensed pharmacy, whether it be brick-and-mortar or online.
