National campaign targets fake medicines, cosmetics

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has introduced a national campaign against the production of fake pharmacy products, supplementary foods and cosmetics.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has introduced a nationalcampaign against the production of fake pharmacy products, supplementaryfoods and cosmetics.

Deputy PM Phuc is the chairman of theNational Steering Committee on Prevention and Control of Smuggling,Trade Fraud and Counterfeit Goods.

The committee has orderedministries, Government agencies and local authorities in border areas tointensify patrol and inspection activities on land and sea to preventcontraband from entering the country.

Market-watch forces weretold to strengthen inspection of pharmaceutical products, supplementaryfoods and cosmetics with an emphasis on quality, especially in Hanoi, DaNang and HCM City.

Stricter penalties will be imposed on stores and retailers committing violations and trade fraud.

Thecommittee ordered police to step up efforts to fight criminals behindthe production and sales of fake pharmaceutical products.

Chairmenof local People's Committees and chiefs of Government bureaus involvedin the anti-counterfeiting campaign will be held accountable before thePrime Minister for efforts in their localities.

The Ministry ofHealth was instructed to tighten control and supervision over the use ofbusiness licences and quality certificates.

The committee alsoordered the health ministry to establish a shared database of businesslicences and quality certificates to assist other Government agencies.

Recentincidents involved large-scale, organised production and sales ofcounterfeit drugs raised public concern about the products.

OnJanuary 24, Hanoi Police found more than 10 tonnes of counterfeitsupplementary foods, including thousands of packages labelled withcopies of well-known brands.

Police also found five otherwarehouses and three workshops involved in the mass production ofnumerous other counterfeit goods, mainly supplementary foods.

OnJune 5, Hanoi Police discovered nearly 20 tonnes of supplementary foodsin a storage unit of VQTech Investment and Chemical JSC., which waslater confirmed to be copies of a foreign royal jelly brand.

VQTech'sDirector Tran Nhu Quynh said he had been producing and sellingcontraband since October, 2014. He said he bought the labels separatelyand put them on his products.

On July 9, HCM City authority andthe General Department of Customs found thousands of cosmetic bottleswithout labels at four different workshops in District 1 and Binh Chanhdistrict.

Thousands of packages of labels imitating well-known skincare, whitening creams and weight-loss products were also discovered.

The ringleaders admitted the bottles were smuggled across the Chinese border while the labels were printed in HCM City.-VNA

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