Snake Oil from China

When I saw this article Beijing suspends US meat imports, I knew this was retaliation for the US and other countries scrutiny of China's imports. They have gotten religion and proclaiming they are going to change the current situation of food, drug safety and ensure that manufacturers don't cut corners; now that they have gotten caught. There have been sufficient number of deaths in and outside China to have warranted much earlier investigations and revisions in their safety policies and procedures. The prosecution for bribery and execution of Zheng Xiaoyu of China's Food and Drug Administration seems like reactionary scapegoating. I hope that the US is not fooled by this. Even if the efforts that China is making now are real; they still do not address counterfeiting. The counterfeit drugs are not drugs that were not tested properly, they are intentionally made without any consideration of safety or efficacy. Counterfeiters make the real money, much more than the $850,000 Xiaoyu was supposed to have taken.

Wake Up Call

I took this picture over a year ago and since then a few of the medications I take have changed. As of now I still take 12 different meds and a calcium supplement. Along with immunosuppressent pills, I take pills for hypertension, high cholesterol, and osteoporosis. I take one injection every few weeks to boost my blood count.
Last week there was a lot of hullabaloo about counterfeit toothpaste and some notice paid to counterfeit drugs coming out of China. The one drug they focused on, Epogen, is a brand of epoetin alfa, which I use. I checked to see if my brand was counterfeited too and indeed it is. The pharmacist can tell, supposedly by lot numbers. Since I haven't had any side effects from the injections from one pharmacy, I'll have to trust them? This last time I didn't get the information sheet with my supply. SCARY! Now there may be some grumblings about what to do about the trade agreement with China and revoke President Bush's fast track privileges, but I want to know what is the government going to do about counterfeit drugs besides making the announcements? I want to see drug bust, random testing and shipped seized; I want more effort than on the war on drugs. I even missed the announcement, I have been remiss in going to the FDA site to check for such. I will have to be more vigilant, but what happens when the outward appearance matches the real thing. This doesn't quite have the same effect as a counterfeit Hermes' handbag. I wont die if I own one.