According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 50 percent of drugs purchased through the Internet are fake, according to a report in Al-Riyadh Arabic daily.

With an alarming increase in fraud involving pharmaceutical products and equipment, several specialists and experts urged authorities to take stringent punitive action against the fraudsters. The Shoura Council is expected to recommend amendments to the Kingdom’s Pharmaceutical Law in the near future, such as imposing a maximum jail term of five years and a fine of SR5 million to people who commit fraud.

Wael Al-Qassim, an official at the Drugs and Medical Equipment Committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warned against the fraud involving electronically marketed drugs.

“Commercial fraud involving drugs and medical equipment has become a global phenomenon. The WHO asserts that about 10 percent of pharmaceutical products marketed worldwide is counterfeit. This percentage is 30 as far as developing countries are concerned. There have been instances of commercial fraud reported in the case of mortal conditions such as cancer and heart disease. Regarding medical equipment and health care products, there are plenty of fake items, including contact lenses, syringes, surgical equipment and wheelchairs,” he said, while urging sick people to buy pharmaceutical products from approved dealers and licensed pharmacies.

“About 50 percent of products marketed through the Internet are fake,” he said while quoting the WHO report. “In such cases, the loss is not that of money but also that of human beings. Proper awareness among customers as well as stringent punitive action against the fraudsters are the major ways to combat this phenomenon.”

Al-Qassim also underscored the need to take preemptive measures such as collecting information about fake medical products, and extending cooperation and coordination among the concerned agencies in combating all types of fraud occurring in the pharmaceutical field.

Khaled Muhammad Taiba, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Society for the Hearing Impaired, said there has been a huge demand for medical equipment and instruments with the establishment of a large number of hospitals, health centers and laboratories across the Kingdom. “Some weak-minded and greedy people are striving to exploit this situation through their involvement in various types of commercial fraud in this vital and sensitive sector. They supply fake medical equipment and instruments used by doctors, technicians and nurses. They are also engaged in selling household medical instruments such as those for testing blood pressure and diabetes,” he said.

Taiba noted that Saudi Food and Drug Administration has introduced and strictly implementing a mechanism to monitor and ensure quality and standards of medical equipment and instruments either manufactured in the Kingdom or imported from outside.

“Even though the authority is keen in maintaining all the required standards and quality for the drugs and medical equipment available in the market, there are some fraudsters managed to smuggle in duplicate and low-quality products. Some doctors are also conniving with these companies,” he said.

On his part, Abdul Rahman Al-Husseini, deputy chairman of the Shariah Health Authority in Jeddah, has pointed out that fake doctors are behind the pharmaceutical fraud.

“If they managed to obtain fake certificates and dare to practice illegally, then they have no hesitation to prescribe fake drugs and unlicensed medical equipment for patients,” he said, while noting that such doctors accept commission from dealers of these equipment and instruments.