Counterfeit drugs disguised as 'hand-carried' - a gamble with death

Dozens of drug brands are counterfeited sophisticatedly

The seller is a member of a group specializing in selling hand-carried drugs online, with more than a million members. Within seconds of posting her information, she received dozens of messages selling drugs. Most of them committed to having a lot of experience, genuine products, and "safe products with many positive reviews".

Three weeks after taking it, she was rushed to the hospital with severe liver failure. Tests showed that the drug contained a dangerous banned substance that had been banned since 2018.

Similarly, a 37-year-old man, diagnosed with liver cancer in early 2025, was recommended by his doctor to receive medical treatment combined with palliative care due to an unfavorable prognosis. However, the family refused and decided to take the patient home for treatment according to the therapy advertised on social media. The seller advertised a "medicine that can destroy tumors and prolong life" for a cost of several tens of millions of dong. Returning to the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital for examination, the doctor assessed that the patient's condition had worsened and his chances of survival were almost gone.

Cases like the two patients above are not uncommon. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 11% of drugs in developing countries are fake or of poor quality. Pfizer emphasizes that no country or product is immune to the threat of counterfeit drugs. The World Customs Organization estimates the value of counterfeit drugs at up to 200 billion USD per year. Counterfeit drugs are "silent killer weapons" in countries with many loopholes in their management systems, including Vietnam. In 2023 - 2024, localities such as Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam, and Hanoi discovered many batches of counterfeit drugs, disguised as major brands, threatening the health of consumers.

Most recently, a large-scale counterfeit drug production line in the world was arrested in Thanh Hoa. The sellers bought raw materials such as starch, adhesives, pharmaceutical additives, bamboo charcoal, colorants... from sources floating on the internet or traditional markets and then "came up with their own formulas to mix and package them into medicine". This group also "invented" the names of the drugs, fabricated their medicinal uses, and printed information and places of production according to the addresses of some foreign embassies to deceive people that they were hand-carried goods, or goods of foreign origin to gain the trust of buyers.

Buying hand-carried medicine online is very simple. Just a few seconds of searching for a short phrase like "buy hand-carried medicine" will bring up hundreds of thousands of results, many of which do not have a contact address, only a phone number for consultation. The number of groups and people selling hand-carried medicine on platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Youtube... is countless.

There are many types of hand-carried medicine on the internet, "any price, any disease", from cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, weight gain, weight loss, skin beauty, joint pain relief, erectile dysfunction treatment.

The common point of this medicine is that it is cheap, easy to buy and sell, difficult to verify the origin or only detect fake goods when money has been lost. Customers only need to choose the quantity, fill in the full address information, phone number, payment method below, and the medicine will be available within a few days. To increase their reputation, sellers often hire celebrities to advertise the product or hire people to experience and exaggerate the effects.

Searching for medicine is quite simple but it is very difficult to determine real and fake medicine with the naked eye.

Doctor Nguyen Huy Hoang, Vietnam - Russia High Pressure Oxygen Center, Ministry of National Defense, said that buying hand-carried drugs is becoming simpler, "as easy as buying a bunch of vegetables at the market". In particular, the tricks of "changing clothes" for drugs, mixing fake drugs with real drugs, changing labels, and counterfeiting big brands are becoming more and more sophisticated, aiming to manipulate consumers, making it very difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.

"This is not only a commercial fraud, but also a direct threat to human life, putting pressure on the health system," the doctor said.

Counterfeit drugs affect treatment, losing the chance to live because of missing the golden time, especially infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer. Many counterfeit drugs contain dangerous impurities, causing damage to the liver, kidneys, cardiovascular system or anaphylactic reactions, which can be fatal. Drugs produced in unsanitary conditions, counterfeit drugs in the form of injections or vaccines can cause systemic infections...

In particular, the group of drugs for treating bone and joint diseases, which are very popular among the elderly community in Vietnam, when counterfeited, often mixes high doses of corticosteroids to quickly reduce symptoms. However, this will cause complications in the elderly such as adrenal insufficiency, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart failure.

Explaining the reason, the doctor said that it was partly due to the lack of understanding and subjectivity of consumers. Many people have a foreign mentality, believing that hand-carried goods are standard and genuine, so they are more likely to "fall into traps". In fact, these products are often marketed as "miracles" but have not undergone research or clinical proof, making it difficult to distinguish between real and fake.

Another reason is that the management and control process still has many loopholes. Many online drug businesses operate recklessly, without a license, and with unknown origins, while prescription drugs are pharmaceuticals that require strict instructions from a doctor. Not to mention, some drugs are introduced by celebrities, TikTokers or KOLs, creating absolute trust. This group often takes advantage of buying drugs abroad as individuals and then reselling them, without registration, inspection or quality control.

An expert in the pharmaceutical industry who did not want to be named said that there is a situation where pharmacists rent their degrees to others to open pharmacies without knowing where the stores are. Some people with intermediate pharmacy degrees arbitrarily ask patients, prescribe and sell drugs without consulting a doctor. On the other hand, the number of pharmacies and retail drug stores in localities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi is too large, making inspection by authorities take a lot of time. This creates opportunities for counterfeit and poor-quality drugs to be smuggled into retail establishments.

According to Mr. Ta Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Drug Administration (Ministry of Health), the rate of counterfeit drugs in recent years has been below 0.1%. Most of the drugs in the recent counterfeit case in Thanh Hoa did not enter hospitals because they did not have the documents and certificates to participate in bidding; these drugs were mainly sold online and on retail channels.

Instead of going to the pharmacy, many people choose to buy goods online, prioritizing hand-carried goods because they believe "foreign goods are better".

To avoid being deceived, the Ministry of Health recommends that people should carefully research information and not believe in advertisements that "deify" products. Before using, consult a doctor. People need to raise their vigilance and awareness to avoid falling into the trap of buying drugs of unknown origin. They should refer to websites such as congkhaiyte.moh.gov.vn or nghidinh15.vfa.gov.vn , which are official addresses to look up information about health protection products.

In case of illness, go to a medical facility for timely examination and treatment, avoid using drugs of unknown origin on your own, which can make the illness worse.

Authorities also proposed that online drug sales must be conducted on e-commerce trading floors or official sales websites, with product information strictly controlled. Sellers must commit to complying with advertising regulations as well as customer information security. This is the content of the draft amended law, submitted to the National Assembly on June 17, 2024.

The draft also proposes that drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients are not allowed to be traded on social networks such as Facebook or TikTok. This measure is aimed at limiting the abuse of inaccurate information and protecting consumer health.

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/thuoc-gia-doi-lot-xach-tay-canh-bac-voi-tu-than-409869.html