Title:
The Dangers of Counterfeit Drugs (First of Two
Parts)
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Technology Report.
See text below
Text:
Counterfeit medicines are a widespread problem in
developing countries. Like other counterfeits, they
look like real products. But counterfeit drugs may
contain too much, too little or none of the active
ingredients of the real thing.
People do not get the medicine they need. And in
some cases the counterfeits cause tragic problems of
their own. About a year ago, more than eighty
children in Nigeria died after being given medicine
for teething pain. And more than twenty children in
Bangladesh died last year after being given
acetaminophen. In both cases, the medications
contained ingredients that looked, smelled and
tasted like the real thing.
But the medicine in Bangladesh was produced by a
local drug manufacturer that used a dangerous
substitute to save money. And in the case in
Nigeria, an illegal chemical dealer sold counterfeit
glycerin to a drug company. That company then used
the chemical to make the teething medicine.
The World Health Organization says the problem with
counterfeit medicines is especially bad in Africa,
Asia and Latin America. The W.H.O. estimates that up
to thirty percent of the medicines on sale in many
of those countries are counterfeit.
Counterfeit medications are also a problem in the
Middle East and in many countries of the former
Soviet Union.
The problem is less widespread among industrialized
countries. The W.H.O. says countries like the United
States, Canada, Japan and New Zealand represent less
than one percent of the counterfeit drug market.
But the agency also says as much as fifty percent of
the medicine sold on the Internet is counterfeit.
Most people have no way to tell if medications are
what they seem. The Center for Medicine in the
Public Interest is a group in New York supported in
part by the drug industry. It predicts counterfeit
sales will reach seventy-five billion dollars
worldwide this year -- nearly double the level of
two thousand five.
Substandard medicines are also a widespread problem
in the developing world. How are they different from
counterfeits? The legal difference is that
counterfeit drugs are made with the purpose of
misleading people. Substandard drugs are just poorly
made.
And that's the VOA Special English Development
Report. Next week, learn what is being done to fight
counterfeit medicines. Transcripts, podcasts and
captioned videos of our reports can be found at
voaspecialenglish.com.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
