Toxins Found in Counterfeit and Falsified Medicines

The Internet is the largest market for counterfeit and falsified medicines. As noted below, these illegitimate products may contain dangerous toxins. Often cases where the counterfeit or falsified medicine was tested, it resulted in the medication containing little to no active ingredients. Additionally other active ingredients have been found in the place of the expected active ingredient which can be hazardous as it could result in a dangerous interaction with other medications that the individual may be taking.

Acetone ¹⁰
Antifreeze ^{4, 5, 6, 7, 15,19}
Arsenic ^{2, 13}
Bacteria ⁷
Benzopyrene ⁵
Boric acid ^5,19
Brick Dust ^{1, 5, 12, 13}
Car paint
Car wax ⁹
Chalk ^1,19
Cement¹⁸

Concrete¹⁹
Floor wax ^{5, 7, 9, 12, 13,19}
Gypsum¹⁸
Highway paint ^{4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 14, 16}
House paint ^{5, 14, 15}
Industrial solvents¹⁸
Lead ³
Mercury ^3,19
Nickel ¹³
Paint thinner ^{5, 12, 15}

PCBs ¹³
Pesticides ¹
Powdered concrete ⁶
Printer ink ^{9, 16, 17}
Rat poison ^{5, 12, 14, 15}
Road tar¹⁹
Sawdust¹⁸
Sheet-rock ^{4, 9, 11, 17}
Shoe polish ²
Talcum powder¹⁸