False Tylenol Prevalent in Belize, Cayo and Orange Walk Districts

Chrystal Samouge

According Doctor Samouge several persons have reported investing in the counterfeit Tylenol products. Those individuals, however, did not report experiencing any adverse effects. Notwithstanding their experiences, fake pharmaceuticals present a national health crisis and put the population at risk. That is why Doctor Samouge says the Ministry of Health is looking at what penalties can be levied against individuals supplying these imitation drugs to grocery stores. She noted that store owners may be lured into making a purchase because the items often cost significantly less.

Dr. Chrystal Samouge, Director, Drug Inspectorate Unit

“What we are observing when we are actually going to the supermarkets is that the merchants are saying that they could not recognize the medication as a falsified medication. We are trying to figure out where they are purchasing the medication. And, it appears that it is not from any of the license drug distributers in the country and it seems to be a sales person who came around once and they have not seen that person again. That is the information we are gathering.

We encourage everyone, whether it is a patient, a consumer, a shop keeper, we ask persons to please ensure they purchase medication only from license distributors or license facilities. When we issue a license from the Ministry of Health and Wellness it means that we would have taken steps to ensure that the products they offer are of quality. When someone is purchasing a contraband medication, or medication that is too good to be true because of the price, purchasing from a random stranger that they don’t know, comes around once or twice, the quality of that medication is not guaranteed. It is a very dangerous practice for people to be getting medication and medical supplies from unauthorized and unlicensed distributors. At this time we are in discussion and we are looking to see after we have tracked down the source, what charges can be brought to these persons.”