Take a look at these two pills.
Do you notice a difference between them?
How about these two?
Do you see a difference here?
How about these?
To the naked eye, these pills are indistinguishable,
but at a chemical level, they are very, very different.
In each case, the pill on the left is real; it will help you get better.
The pill on the right is counterfeit; it will not help you get better.
In some cases, it may even kill you.
Katherine Ivan, author of
Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters Are Contaminating America's Drug Supply
explains that phony pharmaceuticals are drugs that
have been diluted, drugs in which the active ingredient has been
replaced with something else, or drugs that have been relabeled to
appear as something stronger than they truly are.
Taking a phony pharmaceutical means that you do not receive the
medicine you need to get better, and the results can be deadly.
I first became aware of this issue after my younger sister received a
phony drug for her asthma last summer.
Fortunately, the error was discovered before it cost her any
lasting harm, but I've been concerned about the issue ever since
and did a great deal of research on it for this speech.
As a result, I'm convinced that we need to take action now to combat
the problem of phony pharmaceuticals.
Later in my speech, I'll share with you my plan for curbing the spread
of these dangerous drugs.
Let's start by taking a look at the problem.
Phony pharmaceuticals are dangerous because of the health risks
they pose.
According to Graham Jackson, editor of the International Journal of
Clinical Practice, "counterfeit drugs include ingredients such as:
boric acid, gutted road paint, floor polish, shoe polish, talcum powder,
and cement powder."
But that's not all.
There's also brick dust, chalk, nickel, and arsenic.
Ingesting too much boric acid or floor polish can make you sick.
Gutted road paint and arsenic can kill you.
In one highly publicized case, 81 people in the United States died
in 2008 because they took a counterfeit version
of the blood thinner Heparin.
As reported by CNN, the phony Heparin was originally manufactured
outside the United States using a cheap sulfate that proved deadly.
After slipping past all of our regulatory checks, it ended up in the
United States with tragic results.
The US Government Bureau of International Information Programs
estimates that 700,000 people around the world will die this year
from phony pharmaceuticals, almost 3 times the number of people
who live here, in Madison.
In fact, Roger Bate of the American Enterprise Institute reports that
trafficking in counterfeit drugs has become one of the world's fastest
growing criminal enterprises.
Phony pharmaceuticals are so widespread that they have become
big business.
The FDA estimates that they will bring in close to $75 billion in revenue
this year alone, up from $40 billion only a few years ago.
Tom Cubic, head of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute told
USA Today in September 2010 that criminals can make more money in
counterfeit drugs than they can in heroin.
Given the rewards of the counterfeit drug trade, the problem
will only get worse in the coming years unless we take steps to bring
it under control.
The solution I propose is similar to House Resolution 27-26,
which is under consideration by the US Congress.
There are 4 steps to this solution: first, criminal penalties for drug
counterfeiters should be increased from 3 years in prison, which is
the current limit, to no limit at all.
If a drug peddler kills someone with phony pharmaceuticals,
the punishment should fit the crime.
Second, the Food and Drug Administration should have the
authority to recall prescription drugs.
Right now, the FDA can encourage drug manufacturers to issue a recall,
but it has no power to issue a recall on its own.
To get phony pharmaceuticals off the street, recall authority needs to
rest with the central agency that will act quickly and uniformly.
Third, the FDA should be given the resources for spot checking the
chemical makeup of prescription medication.
We have health inspectors for food.
Why not have inspectors for prescription drugs?
Fourth, legitimate drug manufacturers should be required to
implement track and trace technology.
As explained in the New York Times, this technology stamps each
bottle and pill with a unique code tied to a secure centralized database.
The code allows pharmacies and distributors to determine whether
drugs are legitimate or phony plus the route drugs took to get to store
shelves.
Representative Steve Israel of New York,
sponsor of House Resolution 27-26,
says this bill will ensure that the domestic drug supply chain is secure
for every American.
It will crack down on counterfeiting and increase penalties for the outlaws
who are compromising our health.
The time has come for Congress to pass this vital legislation.
In conclusion, phony pharmaceuticals are pervasive and
dangerous.
By implementing the solution I've outlined, we will be able to control this
public health menace.
You have the right to know that the medication you're taking is real.
You have the right to know that your next trip to the drug store will be
a safe one.
And you have the right to know that what you see is what you get.
[Applause]