The Menace of Counterfeit Medicines

Credit By: WASEEM RATHER

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18 Apr 2026

The danger of counterfeit drugs is not only that they may fail to cure. They can actively harm

Over the years, counterfeit medicines have become one of the most dangerous threats to public health in Kashmir and across the developing world. Unlike a visible disaster, this menace hides in plain sight on the pharmacy shelf, in the doctor’s prescription, even in the packet we trustingly hand over to an ailing parent or child. We swallow these pills believing they will heal us, but many of them may instead be nothing more than chalk, coloured powder, or, at worst, toxic chemicals.

The danger of counterfeit drugs is not only that they may fail to cure. They can actively harm. A fake antibiotic that contains little or no active ingredient does not just leave an infection untreated; it helps create drug-resistant bacteria. A counterfeit hypertension tablet may look perfect, but its patient might suffer a silent stroke because their blood pressure was never truly controlled. In these cases, people do not die with a warning label; they die with a prescription slip in their hands.

Several factors have opened the door for this illicit trade. Weak regulation, long supply chains, and the pressure to keep treatment “affordable” have all played a role. When genuine medicines become too costly or difficult to access, the counterfeit market steps in, offering cheaper alternatives that appear convincing to both chemists and patients. People rely heavily on private chemists, brand names, and the advice of friends or neighbours. Few have the time, knowledge, or confidence to question whether a strip of tablets is genuine.

We must also be honest about the role of complacency. How many times have we asked a pharmacist, “Is there anything cheaper?” without enquiring whether that cheaper option is from a trusted manufacturer? How many doctors verify that the pharmacies they recommend have strong sourcing practices? And how many authorities carry out regular, surprise inspections of medical shops, distributors, and stockists?

The response has to be collective and uncompromising. Regulators must tighten licensing, track and trace systems, and penalties for those who deal in fake medicines. Random sampling of drugs from the market should be routine, and the results should be publicly visible.

Doctors must prescribe responsibly, avoid unnecessary combinations and brands, and educate patients about sticking to reliable pharmacies. Pharmacists, in turn, need to keep proper records, buy only from authorised distributors, and refuse suspiciously cheap stock, even if it promises higher profit.

Equally important is public awareness. Patients should be encouraged to check packaging, batch numbers, and expiry dates, and to report any unusual reactions or obvious packaging errors. Community campaigns, media reports, and even simple posters in clinics and chemist shops can help people recognise red flags.

Health is built on trust; trust between patient and doctor, between doctor and medicine, and between medicine and the system that regulates it. Counterfeit drugs break that chain at every level. If we do not act firmly now, we risk a future where people lose faith not just in a particular brand or shop, but in modern medicine itself. That is a loss Kashmir cannot afford.

(Author is a research scholar, public speaker and columnist)