Europe Announces Treaty to Combat Counterfeit Drugs

Moving in line with the globally recognized need for strong protections against counterfeit drugs, the Council of Europe recently announced a treaty that intends to halt the trade of fake medications.

At its Medicrime Convention, the Council of Europe created a binding international instrument to combat the sale of counterfeit drugs and other impediments to public health. The council decided to enact the treaty because the sale of counterfeit drugs violates the right to life part of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

“This treaty offers a comprehensive approach to tackling a crime that threatens public health and public healthcare systems,” said a spokesman, according to PharmTech.com. “Counterfeit medicines are more lucrative than heroin. It is a vile crime to fraudulently provide patients with products that don’t work.”

The Council of Europe sees the counterfeit drug problem as one that affects the entire continent and hence all of Europe’s responsibility to handle. This reasoning led to the creation of the treaty that will take affect later this year.

Americans are protected against counterfeit drugs if they purchase them offline from a licensed US pharmacy, or if they purchase them online from a pharmacy that has been certified by the VIPPS program.