Bill wants to end illegal drug trade

 

The Senate Bill (PLS) 0464/2011, by Senator Humberto Costa (PT / PE), provides for the suspension of the activities of business establishments involved in the counterfeiting, adulteration or alteration, among other practices, of products registered with the Health Surveillance, including medicines, cosmetics and related products.

 

On March 21, the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) took an important step in combating the illegal drug trade in the country with the approval of the Senate Bill (PLS) 0464/2011, authored by Senator Humberto Costa . The PLS establishes a precautionary measure in the public interest of suspending activities and closing business establishments involved in counterfeiting, adulteration or alteration, among other practices, of medicines, cosmetics and related products.

Currently, the IRS can only apprehend contraband, but the company remains open and may return to illicit activities while it is being processed. In the meantime, many people can be victims.

As no appeals were filed regarding the CCJ's final decision, the bill was exempted from consideration by the House Plenary and, according to the Internal Rules of the Federal Senate, it went on to the Chamber of Deputies.

Among the drugs that are most subject to piracy today are drugs for erectile dysfunction, anabolic steroids, those indicated for the treatment of obesity and controlled drugs. But the scope of counterfeit products that affect the health of the population in the country is much broader. The products registered with the Health Surveillance also include prostheses, sanitizers, cosmetics, herbal medicines, not to mention others.

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PF launches operation against sale of medicines over the internet

Source: Abril.com - São Paulo / SP - 19/10/2010

Criminals used websites, classified in newspapers, forums and social networks to sell anabolic steroids, abortion pills, appetite suppressants, home medicines and unregistered formulas.

The Federal Police launched this Tuesday (19), with the support of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), Operation Panacea against the sale of medicines over the internet. The action takes place in 45 countries associated with Interpol, the international police.

According to the PF, 20 search and seizure warrants are being carried out in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraíba, Santa Catarina and Ceará. Criminals used internet sites, classified in newspapers, forums and social networks to sell anabolic steroids, abortion pills, appetite suppressants, home medicines and unregistered formulas.

The Federal Police say that the purchase of medicines over the internet can involve major health risks. There are records of drugs that have less or more of the active ingredient.

In Brazil, the sale of drugs without a license or adulteration are heinous crimes, whose sentences can reach up to ten years in prison and a fine.

Pharmacies that sold irregular medicines in Minas are prohibited by Anvisa

Source: O Globo Online - Rio de Janeiro / RJ - 17/10/2010

MGTV - BELO HORIZONTE - Two pharmacies were closed by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) in Coromandel, in Alto Paranaíba, in Minas Gerais. They sold counterfeit drugs with an expiration date.

3.000 pills of sexual stimulant smuggled from Paraguay were found. The inspection also seized expired drugs.

According to the chief of the operation, which was carried out on Friday, one of them will be charged for the crime of drug trafficking, for selling prescription drugs without a prescription and also for illegal possession of weapons. The other owner was arrested for the crime of falsifying medicines.

A lawyer has already filed a request for habeas corpus for the owners of pharmacies.

PF seizes fake drugs at SP airport

Source: Mais Comunidade - Brasília / DF - 11/10/2010

The Federal Police seized on Monday prohibited drugs, falsified or imported irregularly, that were being sold in the pharmacy of the International Airport of Campinas (Viracopos), in the interior of São Paulo. According to the PF, which carried out the operation with the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), most of the remedies were hidden in the lining of the pharmacy. Few units were on the shelf, along with regular medications.

Counterfeit Viagra, Cialis, Deca Durabolin and Hemogenin were seized, Centrum irregularly imported, in addition to Pramil and Winstron, the latter of which are prohibited to be sold in Brazil. The establishment was also fined by the Federal Pharmacy Council for three minimum wages for operating without the presence of a pharmacist. The person in charge was arrested and is liable for illicit drug trafficking, subject to a sentence ranging from five to 15 years in prison, in addition to a fine; falsification; corruption; adulteration or alteration of a product intended for therapeutic or medicinal purposes, with a penalty of imprisonment for 10 to 15 years, in addition to a fine; and smuggling or embezzlement, with a prison sentence ranging from one to four years.

 

For entity, drug safety seal will bring additional cost of R $ 140 million to the sector

Source: iG - Guilherme Barros column, 10/10/2010

The security seal that Anvisa decided to adopt for the Medicines Control System will bring a considerable cost to the sector. According to calculations by the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO), the cost of stamps can reach R $ 140 million per year.

The entity's president, professor André Franco Montoro Filho, explains that each stamp costs R $ 0,07. "Multiplying by two billion packages of medicines that are produced per year, we reach R $ 140 million," he said.

For ETCO, the adoption of the traceability system would be the ideal model for reducing piracy and providing greater protection against cargo theft.

"This system may even have a higher initial cost, but it is diluted over time," said Montoro, emphasizing that the tracking would be carried out with the printing of a two-dimensional unit code.