July 9, 2023

2023-07-09 06:30:50

If one of the forgers of food supplements had not been arrested in the Baabda judicial detachment a short time ago, this issue would not have occurred in the minds of many Lebanese. While the pharmaceutical sector has not yet recovered from the chaos that prevails in terms of counterfeiting, smuggling, and others, today we see that tampering with people’s lives and their health has become something that these criminals do not think twice regarding.

Shops, social networking sites, illegal pharmacies
The head of the Pharmacists Syndicate in Lebanon, Joe Salloum, considered that “food supplements, including vitamins, are no less dangerous than medicine.”

In an interview with “Lebanon 24”, Salloum said that food supplements, just like other medicines, are regulated by the Ministry of Public Health and subject to a technical committee in the ministry.

Salloum pointed out that what is happening today in the Lebanese street on the food supplement line is the same as what we witnessed in the pharmaceutical sector as a whole, as many of these supplements enter Lebanon illegally, and are sold through shops, social networking sites and illegal pharmacies, indicating that therefore it is not These supplements are registered with the Ministry and are not subject to quality and safety standards.

He added, “Within the framework of our campaign once morest smuggled and counterfeit medicine, we are in full cooperation with the judicial authorities and with all authorities to stop all so-called smuggled food supplements that are sold illegally, because this matter threatens the health safety of the Lebanese patient.”

Regarding the mechanism for the entry of food supplements into Lebanon, Salloum explained that this matter is done either through illegal or even legal crossings, without accountability or oversight, and without the authorities assuming responsibility in combating this scourge.

He said that the sources of these adulterated food supplements are multiple, as they arrive from Iran, Turkey, Syria and others, and some of them are manufactured internally in an unlicensed manner.

Salloum considered that it was necessary for all agencies, including judges and investigators, to act in this regard, stressing that the syndicate had appealed to pharmacies not to store any food supplement until following confirming its source and the company that manufactured it, in addition to the need to ensure that the food supplement is registered with the Ministry of Health.

In this context, Salloum stressed that many times the pharmacist may be fully aware of these standards, but the supplement stored in him may be adulterated, hence the need to closely follow up this file with the agencies, stressing that violators are referred to the investigation and to the disciplinary council.

He also mentioned that “the syndicate continues its campaign once morest all forms of counterfeiting and smuggling, just as when it came to subsidized medicines, especially cancerous ones, which were smuggled from Lebanon abroad to benefit many without seeing that anyone was accused in this file.”

In response to a question regarding whether any deaths resulting from the use of counterfeit food supplements were recorded, Salloum revealed that in Lebanon when a person dies or when he arrives at the hospital due to any complications, the cause that led to the death is not pursued, and therefore it is not possible to know if it was Complications occurred in the person who took an adulterated dietary supplement while taking other medications.

According to Salloum, this is due to the absence of institutions that monitor the drug or food supplement following it enters the market and reaches the patient to study the complications and effects on his health due to his consumption of it or the occurrence of any conflicts when he took it with other drugs.

Consequences of fake supplements
While nutritional supplements may not be counterfeited as often as other types of products, the consequences of consuming them can be severe.

And scientific studies have proven that if a person is unlucky following consuming fake food supplements, they simply won’t work at all. But some fake nutritional supplements have been found to contain hidden ingredients that cause health problems or even death.

Allergens such as peanuts and shellfish can appear in counterfeit vitamins and can also cause negative health reactions.

Food supplements, sports products and vitamins, items that have become a “fatty substance” for many merchants, at a time when health standards are measured exclusively in the buying and selling balance. So when will the officials wake up and show mercy to the Lebanese citizen?

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