Source: Correio Braziliense - DF - 11/08/2009

Actions to combat the smuggling of medicines on the Brazilian border with Uruguay are inefficient Santana do Livramento (RS) and Rivera (Uruguay) - It is not necessary to present a passport or any other document to cross the “border of peace”. The binational cluster, which is about 500km from Porto Alegre, is divided by a square. On the one hand, duty-free stores that offer imported products, such as perfumes, wines, clothes and electronics. On the Brazilian side, a city that lives to support its neighbor's “consumerism”. Portuguese mixes with Spanish. The real, the peso and the dollars too. The circulation of goods is intense. Every weekend, the two cities fill up. People from all regions of the state and even from abroad, who are looking for a good price. The street market gains space with a trinket fair.

As the border between the two countries is very peculiar, with daily and constant links between the two cities, smuggling and free movement of products is part of the cities' routine. Although the authorities, such as the Federal Police and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), have intensified actions in recent years to combat smuggling and counterfeiting at the border, there is still a lack of inspection. The Correio / Estado de Minas report covered the roads that connect the north to the west of the state. During the night, the movement of trucks and buses is intense. No agents were seen, not even in the units of the Federal Highway Police (PRF). During the day, on the highway that connects the city to Porto Alegre, the situation was the same. At the exit, the gateway to Brazil, no one at the post. On the Uruguayan side, the first sanitary barrier with customs is 15 km from the city. The Guarda Caminera post is in Manuel Diaz, 70km away. Mobile barriers are set up sporadically, but illegality already has its schemes to avoid inspection. Redistribute packages, bribe police or cross the dry border on foot or in carts.

It is no different with medicines and medical products. Brazilians take advantage of the low price and the lack of control of Uruguayan pharmacies. The trader Renato Ribeiro, from Porto Alegre, usually goes to Livramento once a month and always buys medicine. “Last time, my mom asked me for a cardiac arrhythmia. In Brazil, it costs more than R $ 100. I paid R $ 30. ” He says he does not fear quality problems, despite the fact that the Federal Police (PF) has already seized counterfeit drugs at the border. The sellers of the five pharmacies in the city are used to the movement and have in their hands a “bible” of medicines, which contains the name of the active principle and similar Uruguayans and Brazilians.

Prescription
The need for revenue is no impediment in Uruguay. Sibutramine, which is only sold with a prescription and retention of a prescription in Brazil, is available at any pharmacy. Salespeople insist on the local product - the Profile - and are committed to supplying large quantities to the customer. In a pharmacy, the person even suggests that the product be sold in Brazil to "friends". Sibutramine is widely used in weight loss. “These are the ones that we sell the most”, says the owner of a pharmacy in Uruguay, who preferred not to be identified. Xenical is also very popular in the city, as well as medicines for erectile dysfunction. In addition to Viagra, Uruguayan medicines are offered at a much cheaper price.