Video Transcript
Full Speech Video: Speaking to Persuade
“Phony Pharmaceuticals”
Take a look at these two pills. Do you notice a difference between them? What about these two? Can you see a difference here? How about these?
To the naked eye, these pills are all 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 phony, and it will not help you get better. In some cases, it might even kill you.
Katherine Eban, 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 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 the problem after my younger sister received a phony drug for her asthma last summer. Fortunately, the error was discovered before it caused my sister any lasting harm. But I’ve been concerned about the issue ever since, and I did a great deal of research on it for this speech. As a result, I am convinced that we need to take action now to combat the problem of phony pharmaceuticals. Later in my speech, I’ll share a plan with you for curbing the spread of these dangerous drugs. But let’s start by taking a closer 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 such ingredients as “boric acid, leaded road paint, floor polish, shoe polish, talcum powder, cement powder, chalk, brick dust, nickel, and arsenic.” Ingesting too much boric acid or floor polish can make you sick; leaded road paint and arsenic can kill you.
In one highly publicized case, for example, 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 U.S. using a cheap sulfate that proved deadly. After slipping past all regulatory checks, it ended up in the United States, with tragic results.
The U.S. government’s Bureau of International Information Programs estimates that 700,000 people around the world will die this year from phony pharmaceuticals—almost three 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 Kubic, head of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, told USA Today in September 2010 that criminals “can make more money in counterfeit drugs than in heroin.”
Given the high rewards of the counterfeit drug trade, the problem will only get worse unless we take steps to bring it under control. The solution I propose is similar to House Resolution 2726, which is under consideration by the U.S. Congress. There are four steps to the solution.
First, criminal penalties for drug counterfeiters should be increased from three 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 a 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 the drugs took to get to store shelves.
Representative Steve Israel of New York, sponsor of House Resolution 2726, says these four steps will “ensure that the domestic drug supply chain is secure for every American.” It “will crack down on counterfeiting and increase the 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 have outlined, we will be able to control this public-health menace. You have the right to know that the medicine you’re taking is real. You have the right to know that your next trip to the drugstore will be a safe one. And you have the right to know that what you see is what you get.