The drugs don't work: Asia's massive fake meds industry

Tue, 03/27/2012 - 23:03 — Anonymous by Simon RoughneenIf you're traveling
to Asia and have a health complaint, beware -- some countries in the region
are hot spots for the manufacture and sale of bogus medication. Cambodia,
Laos and Myanmar are of particular concern -- peddlers of fake medication use
older heroin and methamphetamine smuggling networks around the "Golden
Triangle" to get their drugs across borders. "Be careful what you buy --
and where" is the message to consumers and travelers from experts who met
at a forum on the subject in Bangkok recently, not far from street vendors
peddling fake sex pills near one of the city's red-light areas. "An
estimated 3,000 people die each day around the world from taking fake
medications," reckons Scott Davis, a former U.S. customs official, now
senior regional director (Asia-Pacific) in Pfizer's Global Security section.
Viagra is Pfizer's most frequently counterfeited medicine, he adds.read
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