Physicians help cos market poor-quality medicines

Counterfeit and low-quality medicines have flooded the markets of district and upazila towns against the backdrop of poor vigil by the authority, posing serious threat to public health.
The substandard medicines range from paracetamol tablet to many antibiotics and even lifesaving drugs.
According to physicians, numerous quack-doctors have been practicing medicine in semi-urban, small towns or villages and are helping companies to market the counterfeit and low-quality drugs across the country.
A section of registered or un-registered pharmacy owners are also involved with trading of low-quality drugs for getting higher margins.
Wider use of such medicines is compounding health problems, turning an ordinary complication into deadly, according to a number of medical officers of government hospital at the district and upazila levels.
"If a patient does not get cured with our prescribed medicines, then we apply medicine from another group. But in many cases we found that the patient did not get cured only because of applying lower quality or  counterfeit medicine," Dr Jalal Uddin Rumi, a former medical officer of general surgery at Feni Government General Hospital, told the FE.
He said applying counterfeit and lower quality medicines is causing serious physical and financial losses for hundreds of thousands of patients, mostly living in rural areas.
The acute shortage of doctors and clinics in rural areas forces patients to purchase over-the-counter drugs sans a prescription. This helps fake drug vendors thrive, he said.
Replying to a question of this correspondent, the medical officer said, "We can recommend medication but cannot control illegal trading of drugs or distribute genuine ones to the patients."
Rumi noted that some of his fellow colleagues also found that a popular drug used for treating stroke and brain hemorrhage, known as 'Cavinton,' was being marketed minus its main chemical ingredients, "It is obvious that patients who used this counterfeit drug have either died or suffered an ordeal," he added.
Sabrina Hafiz, an associate professor of the department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Comilla Medical College and Hospital, said patients face complicacy after applying pain killer during post-surgery period.  
"Use of counterfeit medicines has become more or less widespread, but in rural areas, trading of such medicines is increasing gradually. If the government does not act soon, then the situation might go beyond the tolerable level," she added.
Ahmed Ullah, a village doctor, who owns an un-registered pharmacy, said he is not aware of fake and lower quality of medicine as they do not go to the medicine companies to buy medicines; local agents supply all types of medicines.
"We usually buy medicines from whole-sale medicine store situated in the district town and we sell those to the patients. We have no idea about the counterfeit or quality of the medicines," he added.
Replying to a question, he said most of the physicians and his fellow traders prefer to prescribe or push for sale of the medicines of the companies against which they gain higher 'commission'.
Md Ruhul Amin, a director of the office of Director General of Drug Administration (DGDA), seemed to be helpless in combating the crime.
"There are so many illegal medicines and operators that we cannot cope. Our 25 branches across the country are staffed with just 80 drug superintendents and inspectors. We act on when we get specific complaints. But this set-up is hopelessly inadequate," he added.
"In several times, we have seized a lot of such medicines and handed over a number of illegal traders to the members of law enforcement agencies. But the drives are not enough compared with the magnitude of the problem," Mr Amin said.
"We cannot do more than that due to the shortage of manpower," he added.
He, however, expressed his hope to strengthen the agency's drive against such activities after recruitment of new workforces to the department.
He said his agency is going to recruit new inspectors and other officers in different levels shortly.
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