0:00:05.208,0:00:07.219
Take a look at these two pills.

0:00:09.298,0:00:11.848
Do you notice a difference between them?

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How about these two?

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Do you see a difference here?

0:00:19.517,0:00:21.444
How about these?

0:00:23.311,0:00:26.659
To the naked eye, these pills are [br]indistinguishable,

0:00:27.379,0:00:30.621
but at a chemical level, they are [br]very, very different.

0:00:31.431,0:00:35.862
In each case, the pill on the left is[br]real; it will help you get better.

0:00:36.508,0:00:40.362
The pill on the right is counterfeit; it [br]will not help you get better.

0:00:41.084,0:00:43.488
In some cases, it may even kill you.

0:00:48.211,0:00:49.736
Katherine Ivan, author of

0:00:49.736,0:00:54.676
Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters [br]Are Contaminating America's Drug Supply

0:00:54.676,0:00:57.878
explains that phony [br]pharmaceuticals are drugs that

0:00:57.878,0:01:01.738
have been diluted, drugs in which [br]the active ingredient has been

0:01:01.738,0:01:06.238
replaced with something else, or [br]drugs that have been relabeled to

0:01:06.238,0:01:09.224
appear as something stronger than [br]they truly are.

0:01:10.203,0:01:13.642
Taking a phony pharmaceutical [br]means that you do not receive the

0:01:13.642,0:01:18.032
medicine you need to get better, [br]and the results can be deadly.

0:01:19.310,0:01:23.572
I first became aware of this issue [br]after my younger sister received a

0:01:23.572,0:01:25.896
phony drug for her asthma last summer.

0:01:26.748,0:01:30.057
Fortunately, the error was [br]discovered before it cost her any

0:01:30.057,0:01:34.375
lasting harm, but I've been [br]concerned about the issue ever since

0:01:34.375,0:01:37.257
and did a great deal of research on [br]it for this speech.

0:01:37.863,0:01:42.812
As a result, I'm convinced that we [br]need to take action now to combat

0:01:42.812,0:01:44.937
the problem of phony pharmaceuticals.

0:01:45.484,0:01:49.220
Later in my speech, I'll share with [br]you my plan for curbing the spread

0:01:49.220,0:01:51.125
of these dangerous drugs.

0:01:51.450,0:01:53.932
Let's start by taking a look at the [br]problem.

0:01:56.093,0:01:59.193
Phony pharmaceuticals are [br]dangerous because of the health risks

0:01:59.193,0:02:00.557
they pose.

0:02:00.981,0:02:04.679
According to Graham Jackson, [br]editor of the International Journal of

0:02:04.679,0:02:09.649
Clinical Practice, "counterfeit drugs [br]include ingredients such as:

0:02:09.649,0:02:15.611
boric acid, gutted road paint, floor [br]polish, shoe polish, talcum powder,

0:02:15.611,0:02:17.200
and cement powder."

0:02:17.614,0:02:18.904
But that's not all.

0:02:19.374,0:02:25.325
There's also brick dust, chalk, [br]nickel, and arsenic.

0:02:26.629,0:02:30.768
Ingesting too much boric acid or [br]floor polish can make you sick.

0:02:32.181,0:02:35.268
Gutted road paint and arsenic can [br]kill you.

0:02:36.610,0:02:41.470
In one highly publicized case, [br]81 people in the United States died

0:02:41.470,0:02:44.821
in 2008 because they took a [br]counterfeit version

0:02:44.821,0:02:46.330
of the blood thinner Heparin.

0:02:47.526,0:02:51.716
As reported by CNN, the phony [br]Heparin was originally manufactured

0:02:51.716,0:02:56.523
outside the United States using a [br]cheap sulfate that proved deadly.

0:02:57.263,0:03:01.304
After slipping past all of our [br]regulatory checks, it ended up in the

0:03:01.304,0:03:03.724
United States with tragic results.

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The US Government Bureau of [br]International Information Programs

0:03:09.672,0:03:16.145
estimates that 700,000 people [br]around the world will die this year

0:03:16.145,0:03:20.315
from phony pharmaceuticals, [br]almost 3 times the number of people

0:03:20.315,0:03:23.465
who live here, in Madison.

0:03:24.195,0:03:29.686
In fact, Roger Bate of the American [br]Enterprise Institute reports that

0:03:29.686,0:03:33.244
trafficking in counterfeit drugs has [br]become one of the world's fastest

0:03:33.244,0:03:35.213
growing criminal enterprises.

0:03:37.664,0:03:41.364
Phony pharmaceuticals are so [br]widespread that they have become

0:03:41.364,0:03:42.765
big business.

0:03:43.336,0:03:49.165
The FDA estimates that they will [br]bring in close to $75 billion in revenue

0:03:49.165,0:03:53.797
this year alone, up from $40 billion[br]only a few years ago.

0:03:54.845,0:03:58.825
Tom Cubic, head of the [br]Pharmaceutical Security Institute told

0:03:58.825,0:04:04.969
USA Today in September 2010 that [br]criminals can make more money in

0:04:04.969,0:04:08.085
counterfeit drugs than they can in heroin.

0:04:09.247,0:04:12.627
Given the rewards of the [br]counterfeit drug trade, the problem

0:04:12.627,0:04:16.481
will only get worse in the coming [br]years unless we take steps to bring

0:04:16.481,0:04:18.174
it under control.

0:04:18.960,0:04:24.139
The solution I propose is similar to [br]House Resolution 27-26,

0:04:24.139,0:04:26.799
which is under consideration by the [br]US Congress.

0:04:27.675,0:04:34.678
There are 4 steps to this solution: [br]first, criminal penalties for drug

0:04:34.678,0:04:38.626
counterfeiters should be increased [br]from 3 years in prison, which is

0:04:38.626,0:04:40.957
the current limit, to no limit at all.[br]

0:04:41.719,0:04:45.069
If a drug peddler kills someone with [br]phony pharmaceuticals,

0:04:45.069,0:04:47.610
the punishment should fit the crime.

0:04:48.611,0:04:53.353
Second, the Food and Drug [br]Administration should have the

0:04:53.353,0:04:55.614
authority to recall prescription drugs.

0:04:56.225,0:05:00.995
Right now, the FDA can encourage[br]drug manufacturers to issue a recall,

0:05:00.995,0:05:04.066
but it has no power to issue a recall [br]on its own.

0:05:04.836,0:05:08.810
To get phony pharmaceuticals off [br]the street, recall authority needs to

0:05:08.810,0:05:13.391
rest with the central agency that will [br]act quickly and uniformly.

0:05:14.638,0:05:20.718
Third, the FDA should be given the [br]resources for spot checking the

0:05:20.718,0:05:23.112
chemical makeup of prescription [br]medication.

0:05:23.982,0:05:26.062
We have health inspectors for food. [br]

0:05:26.704,0:05:29.284
Why not have inspectors for [br]prescription drugs?

0:05:30.429,0:05:35.486
Fourth, legitimate drug [br]manufacturers should be required to

0:05:35.486,0:05:37.933
implement track and trace technology.

0:05:38.273,0:05:41.472
As explained in the New York [br]Times, this technology stamps each

0:05:41.472,0:05:46.772
bottle and pill with a unique code [br]tied to a secure centralized database.

0:05:47.488,0:05:51.027
The code allows pharmacies and [br]distributors to determine whether

0:05:51.027,0:05:55.697
drugs are legitimate or phony plus [br]the route drugs took to get to store

0:05:55.697,0:05:56.777
shelves.

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Representative Steve Israel of[br]New York,

0:06:02.100,0:06:05.560
sponsor of House Resolution 27-26,

0:06:05.560,0:06:10.261
says this bill will ensure that the [br]domestic drug supply chain is secure

0:06:10.261,0:06:11.571
for every American.

0:06:12.076,0:06:16.052
It will crack down on counterfeiting [br]and increase penalties for the outlaws

0:06:16.052,0:06:18.326
who are compromising our health.

0:06:19.229,0:06:23.950
The time has come for Congress to [br]pass this vital legislation.

0:06:25.344,0:06:29.154
In conclusion, phony [br]pharmaceuticals are pervasive and

0:06:29.154,0:06:30.298
dangerous.

0:06:30.668,0:06:35.431
By implementing the solution I've [br]outlined, we will be able to control this

0:06:35.431,0:06:37.105
public health menace.

0:06:37.668,0:06:43.500
You have the right to know that the [br]medication you're taking is real.

0:06:44.460,0:06:49.340
You have the right to know that [br]your next trip to the drug store will be

0:06:49.340,0:06:50.610
a safe one.

0:06:50.950,0:06:56.741
And you have the right to know that [br]what you see is what you get.

0:06:57.171,0:06:59.250
[Applause]