Five reasons not to buy medicines outside of the official drug distribution channels
Their origin is not clearly identified
They may be medicines diverted from their destination (and which have therefore circulated in poor conditions), expired products, counterfeit or illegally imported medicines or even medicines stolen from donors.
Falsified medicines are often repackaged and relabelled before being sold. Therefore, their quality is not verified by healthcare workers and often in the stock of itinerant traders, there are medicines without an active ingredient, or containing a different active ingredient to the expected one, expired medicines, or ones deteriorated due to poor storage conditions.
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The medicines sold do not always correspond to those stated on the prescription
The resort to self-medication (treating yourself) is usually accompanied by buying medicines on the illegal market. Since the sellers are not medically trained, they will not be able to tell the patient how to take the medicines and how long to take them for. Even worse, they may provide medicines that fail to meet their needs at all.
The package leaflet is not always supplied with the medicine.
Medicines that are often sold “in bulk” are not usually supplied with their package leaflet, or even their package. Sometimes, the instructions are present but in a foreign language. The patient is then unable to check the medicine's name, indication, contra-indications, or even its expiry date.
The cost to health and wallet is higher
As they are often sold individually, street medicines seem to be cheaper. In reality, they often cost more than those sold through official distribution channels. Furthermore, these medicines are often ineffective, or even dangerous, and buying them is a waste of money
They present risks for the patient… but also for the whole community
The use of unauthorised medicines can lead to a deterioration in health, and even death. Moreover, the bacteria that cause disease become more resistant, if the disease is not treated with the appropriate medicine. This makes it more difficult to treat the disease even with high-quality medicines.
The WHO conducted impact studies on this issue in 2017, based on several hundred scientific studies. The results are telling: falsified medicines are estimated to be responsible for at least 170,000 deaths from childhood pneumonia and 150,000 deaths from malaria each year in children under five in sub-Saharan Africa!