Filenews 26 July 2024 - by Marilena Panayi
Raids on hairdressers, beauty salons, gyms and other places are being prepared by the pharmaceutical services of the Ministry of Health in cooperation with the Police, after information reached the authorities about the circulation of falsified injectable drugs for diabetes, (and not only), which, as is known, are used internationally, and outside approved indications, and for weight loss for aesthetic reasons.
The effort being made, "to safeguard the stocks of injectable drugs for diabetes so that they are administered only to real patients and not for aesthetic reasons, probably needs to be expanded", the Director of Pharmaceutical Services Elena Panagiotopoulou told philenews, explaining that "as state services we have an obligation to ensure that the reduced stocks of these drugs will not leave diabetics without their treatment, because some people take them thoughtlessly for aesthetic reasons. But on the other hand, we have an obligation to ensure that the rest of the population is safe."
The pharmaceutical services, Panagiotopoulou said, "received complaints according to which falsified injectable medicines circulate from hand to hand in hairdressers, beauty salons, etc. In fact, some, taking advantage of the increased international administration of these drugs for weight loss, seem to be channelling falsified medicines of these drugs into the European market, and Cyprus is not exempt, and are even selling them at very low prices. As a result, citizens become victims, ignore the risks and buy these injectables in order to lose weight."
The recent warnings from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Panayotopoulou said, "were by no means accidental and it seems that taking advantage of the increased demand observed in these medicines has knocked on our door at European level."
Concluding, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services reiterated that "injectable preparations for diabetes are intended for diabetics and some of them are indicated for administration to people suffering from obesity or are overweight and have health problems. EMA's recommendations were and are very strict and we here in Cyprus are trying to maintain our stocks at satisfactory levels. For this reason, we are intensifying our controls on pharmacies. But we must ensure that no citizen is put at risk who falls victim to some trickery aimed at easy profit."
