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
  1. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-17/inside-pfizers-fight-against-counterfeit-drugs?campaign_id=rss_null#p2
  2. http://www.theindychannel.com/lifestyle/health/fake-drugs-not-just-third-world-problem
  3. http://www.safemedicines.org/2013/02/uks-medicine-regulatory-agency-warns-of-dangerous-ingredients-in-herbal-remedies517.html
  4. http://www.10news.com/news/counterfeit-drugs-online-and-from-doctors-disturb-experts-fbi-051713#ABC%2010%20News
  5. http://www.safemedsonline.org/2013/07/top-poisons-found-in-counterfeit-drugs/
  6. http://blog.needymeds.org/2013/10/30/making-the-internet-safe-for-patients/
  7. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-pociask/internet-drugs-can-kill_b_4181418.html
  8. http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/investigations/2013/11/18/counterfeit-medicine/3626595/
  9. http://www.theday.com/article/20131222/BIZ02/312229931/1017
  10. http://www.safemedicines.org/2014/01/study-shows-internet-savvy-ages-more-concerned-with-medicine-safety-1-15-14.html
  11. http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/Ingredients/DOJ-prosecutor-is-there-a-way-to-secure-APIs-from-counterfeiters
  12. https://lillypad.lilly.com/entry.php?e=3681
  13. http://www.indystar.com/story/money/2014/04/06/eli-lilly-intensifies-efforts-stop-fake-pharmaceuticals/7327471/
  14. http://www.clickondetroit.com/consumer/consumer/ruth-to-the-rescue-how-counterfeit-drug-makers-are-targeting-you/26289274
  15. http://time.com/2826641/poison-pills/
  16. http://ht.ly/yta3m
  17. http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/leading-russian-security-firm-group-ib-releases-2014-report-on-russian-high-tech-crime-1957656.htm
  18. http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/160941
  19. http://www.safemedicines.org/2012/03/no-drugs-at-all.html