Vietnam Foreign Currency For Drugs

Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment has announced that thepharmaceutical industry will be among a number of industrial sectors that will receive priority in obtaining foreign currencies from domestic commercial banks for their development, reports Vietnam News.

It is also reported that the Vietnamese regional newspaper, CongLuan, has called for manufacturers of fake medicines to be punished as severely as drugs traffickers, as fake medicines cause as much if not more damage to health than illegal drugs. Some unsuspecting consumers of fake drugs have died with little warning, the newspaper claims.

A recent survey of drug stores in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam found that 40% were violating health regulations, with the most common violation being the hiring of a license from a qualified pharmacists to go into business and then selling outdated, unidentified or low-quality medicines. A number were found to be selling fake or imitation medicine brands.