By Eliane Oliveira, O Globo, 18/08/2005

BRASILIA. Since putting into practice a set of measures to combat and repress piracy, seven months ago, the government has recorded an 80% drop in smuggling in Foz do Iguaçu (PR). Furthermore, in general terms, the entry of counterfeit cigarettes into the country fell by 20%. With this data in hand, the president of the Council to Combat Piracy, Luiz Paulo Barreto, announced yesterday that the program is now entering a second phase: that of attacking the demand for pirated products, in which fundamentally the risks that these goods cause to the health and safety of users.

? These 15 years of existence of the Consumer Protection Code served to refine consumer relations in Brazil. Piracy could ruin this achievement, and we cannot allow it? said Barreto, who is executive secretary of the Ministry of Justice.

With this objective, on the 31st the Council will sign an agreement with the Department of Consumer Protection and Defense (DPDC) of the Ministry of Justice.

Counterfeiting even affects cancer medicines

The DPDC will forward all complaints received directly to Procons. This means that anti-piracy agencies will take advantage of the system's wide reach throughout the country.

According to the Federal Revenue, in the first phase of the program, inspection and repression operations across the country resulted in R$290 million in seized goods. The increase was 45% compared to the period from January to July 2004.

In partnership with the private sector, the government intends to launch a broad campaign against piracy. Based on a study by the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (Etco), Barreto cited cases such as counterfeiting of medicines, even medicines against cancer.