5 Easy and Cheap Ways You Can Identify Fake Medicine In Nigeria
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 out 10 medicines in Nigeria is fake. To avoid buying fake medicine, you must get your meds from your trusted pharmacy. The existence of counterfeiting in movies, clothes, music, medicine, and cosmetic items cannot be refuted.
Production of fake things and distribution has an impact on the sector. It is also hazardous to a country’s health. A lot of these fake medicines are produced in some parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.

What is fake medicine?
Fake medicine is a pharmaceutical product that is not what it claims to be. It refers to any medicine that has been created or designed to appear to be better than it is. The word can also apply to a medicine that has been purposefully and fraudulently mislabeled. This is in terms of identification, source, or packaging.
The catastrophic effects of consuming counterfeit medicine are well known. They tend to pose a threat to the integrity of public health systems around the world. They also are bad for our health and well-being. Despite attempts by regulatory agencies to ensure conformity with standards, the problem of counterfeit medicine has remained.
Fake drugs are divided into two categories:
- Those that imitate genuine medicines
- Those that make misleading claims about their ingredients.
A fake medicine could contain the following ingredients:
- no active component
- ingredients of poor quality
- ingredients that aren’t declared
- unlawful ingredients
- dangerous ingredients
- a dosage that is inappropriate (too much, too little, or variation in dose across tablets)
- pollutants from unsanitary production

What is the prevalence of fake medicine?
From dermal fillers to leukemia treatment, any product can be faked. Fake drugs are less common in countries with strict medicine regulations, such as Australia. Also, especially when purchased from trustworthy vendors such as registered pharmacies. If a pharmacist is proven to be dealing in counterfeits, their license as a pharmacist may be revoked.
If you try to buy medicine online, you are more likely to come across a counterfeit version. This happens especially when the online store is not verified. Some websites appear to be verified, but they are not, so you have to be on the lookout. Some drugs marketed online, according to the World Health Organization, are bogus.
As a customer, you may not have access to most of the test equipment used by regulatory agencies to authenticate the identification of a drug product. The following pointers can help you identify fake medicine in Nigeria
Examine the seal.
The security seal should not be broken or interfered with, especially in bottled medicines. Before buying, inspect the sealing tape for any cracks or breaks. Do not buy it if it appears to be broken or tampered with.
Examine the packaging.
This is the most straightforward technique. Look at the typeface, spellings, and color if it’s medicine you’ve bought before. In most counterfeit medicines, one or more of these are incorrect.
Medicines are inspected visually.
According to the World Health Organization, the following physical characteristics should be looked up in pharmaceutical tablets:
- Swelling, spots, or discoloration of the tablets;
- Cracks in the tablets;
- The appearance of crystals on the container walls or the medicine tablets;
- Softening or hardening of the medicines;
- Swelling, spots, or discoloration of the tablets

Cost
Make sure to double-check if the price of the drugs drops unexpectedly. In such a circumstance, the chances are that the medicine is fake. Because medicines are typically made similarly. Changes in the pricing of one brand can have a significant impact on all other pharmaceutical companies. So be cautious!
Short Message Service-based Mobile Authentication Service (SMS)
One of the cutting-edge technologies utilized to combat the threat of fake pharmaceuticals is the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS). Many cell phone users now can spot phony medicinal products because of this technology.
The packaging of medications with a scratch card placed on the box from the point of manufacture is referred to as MAS.
The sender receives a response shortly after that confirms whether the medicine is real or not.
How To Avoid Buying Fake Medicine
Buy from a registered pharmacy: There are a lot of fake medicine hawkers in Nigeria, avoid getting your medicine from them.

When Buying Online, Verify The Store: We understand that buying medicine online is the new thing. It is also a good way to buy medicine and still retain your privacy. But any online medicine store that does not have an onsite store, is a red flag.
Counterfeiting poses a health concern.
All unapproved therapeutic commodities are dangerous, but counterfeit medicines are far more dangerous. Anyone prepared to break the law to get your money may also be willing to defraud you or put their health at risk.
If a fake medicine is intended to treat a life-threatening condition, it may fail to treat the ailment, which can be fatal. More than 250,000 children die each year as a result of false and poor pneumonia and malaria treatments.
If fake drugs contain unreported substances or pollutants, they can induce unanticipated side effects. Furthermore, understrength antibiotics contribute to antimicrobial resistance in the case of diluted antibiotics.
If you suspect a product is fake, Report Fake Drug Or Substandard Product To NAFDAC