Everyone is bound to get sick, and when we do, the most important thing we need is medicine. But now, some people are selling non-drugs as drugs for money. What's worse, they deceive the elderly and make them take health products as medicine, which delays their treatment.
【The Difference between Drugs and Non-drugs】
In the packaging, labels, and instructions of drugs, there is an approval number. Drugs are labeled with the approval number, which starts with H (or Z.S.J.B.F) followed by 8 digits. In addition, there are hospital preparations, which are also drugs, but they are not sold in the market or other hospitals. Non-drugs refer to products other than drugs.
One, prescription drugs
Prescription drugs refer to medications that can only be obtained from pharmacies or drugstores with a doctor's prescription and must be used under the supervision or guidance of a doctor.
Most prescription drugs fall into the following categories:
1. Newly launched drugs: further observation is needed for their activity and side effects;
2. Certain drugs that can cause dependence, such as opioid analgesics and certain sedative-hypnotic drugs;
3. Drugs with high toxicity, such as anticancer drugs and antibiotics;
4. Some diseases must be diagnosed by doctors and laboratories, and the use of drugs requires a doctor's prescription and guidance, such as cardiovascular drugs.
Two, over-the-counter drugs
Over-the-counter drugs are medications that do not require a doctor's prescription and can be directly purchased by consumers from pharmacies or drugstores.
In the United States, they are called "over-the-counter drugs" (OTC drugs for short), which has become the internationally accepted term for non-prescription drugs. Therefore, when you see the abbreviation OTC in newspapers, magazines, or books, it refers to non-prescription drugs. Patients can judge for themselves based on their condition and purchase drugs without a doctor's guidance. It is safe and effective to use them to relieve mild and short-term symptoms and treat minor illnesses according to the prescribed methods.
Drugs have specific effects and therapeutic purposes, while non-drugs are exaggerated in their claims and have no substantial effect on treating diseases. At best, they delay treatment for patients, and at worst, they harm public health.
【Measures to Prevent Non-drugs from Pretending to be Drugs】
1. Products that do not indicate the approval number or indicate false or invalid approval numbers should be investigated by the food and drug regulatory department as counterfeit drugs;
2. Products that indicate disinfection numbers should be handled by the health administrative department;
3. Products and their production and operation enterprises that make illegal claims about disease prevention and treatment, do not indicate the approval number, or indicate false or invalid approval numbers while pretending to be drugs, should be investigated by the food and drug regulatory department.
【Reasons for Non-drugs Pretending to be Drugs】
On the one hand, it is due to the lack of moral constraints on businesses. Their profit-driven nature leads to the loss of social conscience, and they deceive consumers to obtain illegal profits, disregarding social integrity and the physical health of consumers.
On the other hand, it is due to the lack of market regulation. The competent authorities for food, drugs, industry, and commerce are unable to conduct real-time supervision of business activities. At the same time, there are inadequate channels for supervision, and the punishment for such issues is not strong enough, resulting in the loss of regulatory effectiveness and enabling businesses to act recklessly.
In any case, such illegal acts of non-drugs pretending to be drugs should be punished by the law. Consumers should also be aware and not be fooled into taking the wrong medicine.
