Substandard, Spurious, Falsely-Labelled, Falsified and Counterfeit (SSFFC) Drugs: Time to Take a Bitter Pill

Abstract

Substandard, Spurious, Falsely-Labelled, Falsified and Counterfeit (SSFFC) drugs are an emerging public health concern in India. With one of the huge pharmaceutical sectors in the world, India has a varied prevalence of SSSFC drugs ranging from 0.04% to 34% according to various studies. Apart from severe health consequences, SSSFC drugs also weaken community's trust in the health care system. India is tackling the epidemic of SSSFC drugs through various existing and new regulatory measures. Considering the calamitous consequences of this silent epidemic, it is time to prescribe a bitter pill.

Keywords

• Counterfeit Drugs
• Substandard Drugs
• Spurious Drugs
• SSSFC
• Pharmacovigilance