O Globo Online - 17/10/2011

The purchase of over-the-counter medicines is practiced by a fifth of the Brazilian population. The alarming data is part of an Ibope survey released this Monday morning at the seminar “Informality and its impacts on society”, held at GLOBO headquarters by Interfarma - Association of the Pharmaceutical Research Industry, with the participation of specialists from area to combat piracy. According to the survey, the habit of Brazilians to buy medicines without going to the doctor is even more common in the capitals and in the Northeast region, where 24% of those interviewed by Ibope admitted that they did not present a prescription at the pharmacy.

This reality was one of the subjects most commented on by the panelists present at the seminar, which also revealed the index of Brazilians who admit buying medicines from street vendors: the group accounts for 6% of the population. In the North Region, the number reaches 18%.

To open the analyzes on the effects of informality on the country's economy and on the health of the population, the Minister of Justice, José Eduardo Cardozo, was invited. He highlighted the need to invest in educational actions with the population:

- We need to identify, for example, why Brazilians buy a pirate medicine and do a job of raising awareness about the risks of this habit.

The president of the National Forum against Piracy and Illegality, Edson Vismona, showed how the illegal market harms consumers and producers - who lose market -, in addition to increasing tax evasion. The president of the National Council for Combating Piracy and Offenses against Intellectual Property, Paulo Pires Junior, also participated in the first block of debates; and the executive president of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (Etco), Roberto Abdenur.

The second part of the seminar was opened by international guest Scott La Ganga, executive director of the American organization The Partnership for Safe Medicines. He reported on the experience of combating counterfeit drugs in the United States and other countries where the organization operates, highlighting the importance of cooperation between governments, regulatory agencies and the private sector. After him, it was the turn of Anvisa's CEO, Dirceu Barbano, to present his considerations on the topic. According to him, the remedies that suffer the most counterfeiting in Brazil are those that fight erectile dysfunction, anabolic steroids, slimming pills, abortion medications and herbal medicines. The most alarming data presented at the seminar, for Barbano, is the number of Brazilians who buy measurements without a prescription.

- A country in which 70% of medicines are sold without a prescription is more vulnerable to this market of medicines of dubious origin. From our apprehensions, we realized that most of these drugs reach consumers through pharmacies, which can receive the product from distributors or resell stolen cargo, for example - says Barbano.

The last guest at the seminar was Senator Humberto Costa (PT / PE), who presented his bills to curb counterfeiting in the country.