The Global Fund to Fight AIDS recently released the below video about counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The goal of the video is to raise awareness of the problem of counterfeit medications among Africans but the message applies to everyone.

One line in particular stands out "African people… don't be cheated. Demand good medication, come rain or shine." Substitute Western for African and medication for shoes, handbags and whatever else people justify buying counterfeits of, and the line speaks to western greed and how it makes us duped so easily.

And don't think westerners are immune to counterfeit pharmaceuticals. There are plenty counterfeit medications in circulation and criminals are always trying to get more in.

Somalian pirates attack and seize commercial sea vessels semi regularly. While being held in captivity is very stressful for the captive and his/her family, the victims can take some comfort knowing that the pirates don't really want to kill their captives. The pirates need to return their victims alive in order to receive the desired ransom. The same cannot be said of producers and distributors of counterfeit medication.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Google has set aside half-a-billion USD for a settlement with the US Department of Justice. This was discovered through the company's public filing which described the reason for the settlement as an investigation into "the use of Google advertising by certain advertisers."

Word on the street is that this could be an investigation into possibly accepting advertising revenue from illegal pharmacies, the type that sell counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

After all of the noise Google has made about its anti-counterfeiting efforts, we hope the company is making a sincere effort and not just trying to save face.
Anyone know anything about the case that could give some insight into this? Do you think Google is really committed to anti-counterfeiting?

Our regulatory agencies mean well, but they sometimes miss the boat. In this video, the FDA gives some tips to help doctors and patients avoid buying counterfeit medications on the Internet. But do these tips really help the average consumer?