Over the counter erectile dysfunction drug.

November 24, 2007

Doctor sold useless sex creams

Filed under: Erectile Dysfunction — alsi @ 10:21 pm

A Harley Street doctor prescribed expensive impotence remedies which were useless if not dangerous, a GMC disciplinary hearing has been told.

Dr Moloy Prakash Sahu of the Wellman Clinic, 57 Harley Street, gave creams and pills which had “no evidence” of treating sexual problems, it heard.

He failed to check medical histories or possible psychological problems, said expert witness Laurence Sandler.

Dr Sahu denies serious professional misconduct. The hearing continues.

Mr Sandler, of Wycombe General Hospital, said he had examined patient records and notes made by Dr Sahu and could not understand the drugs and other masturbation and erectile dysfunction that had been prescribed.

He noted Dr Sahu had spent little time talking through the sex problems of his patients before prescribing.

“I spend a long time talking to them. It is very difficult but you have to get a rapport with them. It is a very sensitive problem,” said Mr Sandler.

Psychological factors

Mr Sandler said the cause of low libido was often psychological, or caused by factors such as high blood pressure, smoking and drinking.

But Dr Sahu had failed to discuss this in detail with the patients, he said.

There was an average of a three month course of treatment made up of vitamins and washes for each man and the cost would be in the region of 1,500 to 2,000
Lynn Griffin, for the GMC

Mr Sandler also warned about Dr Sahu&39;t a catch-all. It doesn&39;True purpose&39;s “deference” to non-medically qualified members of the clinic's staff impotence cure the “true purpose” of the establishment.

That “was to get vulnerable men to part with money for treatment which was not effective and certainly overpriced,” she said.

This clinic appears to have a standard form of treatment which is meted out regardless of the condition presented by the patient
Lynn Griffin
GMC

Dr Sahu prescribed a range of vitamins, herbal washes, creams and other drugs which were on the whole “inappropriate”, she said.

Often his contact with patients was “minimal”, while other staff persuaded them to sign up for treatments.

Ms Griffin also said the price of the treatments appeared excessive.

“There was an average of a three month course of treatment made up of vitamins and washes for each man and the cost would be in the region of 1,500 to 2,000,” she said.

Charges denied

She said despite each patient suffering a range of problems, the men were given similar treatment.

“This clinic appears to have a standard form of treatment which is meted out regardless of the condition presented by the patient.

“For most patients the prescribing was inappropriate - the drugs would have been ineffective and no matter how many washes and creams were given to these gentlemen along with these medications it would not have assisted their problem,” said Ms Griffin.

One patient told the hearing the clinic had since paid the costs of his treatment, plus interest, as a result of a small claims court ruling.

Dr Sahu, of Erectile dysfunction new drug, East London, denies 11 charges amounting to serious professional misconduct, arising from his treatment of patients at the clinic between July 2000 and June 2001.

 

Original article ‘Doctor sold useless sex creams

November 23, 2007

The hard sell viagra

Filed under: Erectile Dysfunction — alsi @ 12:58 am

Originaly from: The hard sell viagra page

The rise and rise of Viagra has created a 1.5bn worldwide market in anti-impotence pills.

Now rivals are fighting for a share of the spoils and it is becoming a recreational drug of choice for some in the party generation.

Last week, Pfizer&39;s authorities to clamp down on the copycats.

New research

Pfizer, the world&39;s top Urological Surgeons, based in Bristol.

He had spent his whole career trying to treat and improve the lives of thousands of men suffering from impotence.

In those days, commonly used treatments included the fitting of implants directly into the penis, a vacuum pump and self injection.

Most sufferers were thoroughly put off and consigned themselves to a life without sex.

Viagra arrives

Mr Gingell ran a new series of trials, and the results impressed him.

Pfizer chief executive Henry McKinnell
Pfizer chief executive McKinnell says copycats pose a threat

He describes Viagra as “a wonder drug”.

“The thought of having a pill that would cure impotence was amazing to me,” he says.

“I never thought I would see it in my lifetime.”

“There has been a kind of Holy Grail idea associated with curing impotence,” Pfizer&39;s share price doubled. It was apparent that there was a huge previously untapped market out there.

Doctors claim that half of all men over 40 become impotent at some point in their lives.

That is more than 150 million worldwide, with two million sufferers in Britain alone, so the potential market for drugs like Viagra is colossal.

Overnight Viagra made Pfizer famous. “We discovered the mass production of penicillin, yet it was Viagra that put Pfizer on the map,” says Ms Caprino.

Embarrassing subject

Masturbation and erectile dysfunction, despite the highly successful launch, the company faced a huge potential problem in selling Viagra.

Men were simply not willing to talk about impotence, they were ashamed.

If they were not prepared to discuss their impotence, how could they be persuaded to ask their doctor for a prescription?

Ray Reynolds, who suffered from impotence for 30 years, had simply given up hope of ever being able to have sex again.

“I thought well, I&39;s top spectator sport

Firstly, they asked the Vatican, and other world religious leaders, for their blessing. This headed off possible moral and religious objections.

Secondly, they employed big name celebrities to encourage men to seek treatment for impotence.

Pele, the legendary footballer, headed a men&39;s courage in coming forward.

“When I saw it on TV, I admired him for it,” he says.

“You might say he was my idol.”

Withdrawal of campaign

Pfizer decided not to use the term “impotence” in the advertisements, instead replacing it with a more bland technical term “erectile dysfunction”.

Pfizer&39;s aggressive marketing campaign has recently run into trouble.

A recent television advertisement has been criticized in the United States for suggesting that Viagra might be better and more effective for patients than the clinical experience suggests.

The Food and Drug Impotence cure ordered its withdrawal.

Efficient sex

There are potential problems, too, in the increasing use of Viagra as a recreational drug.

Viagra medication
Half of all men over 40 become impotent at some point

“For a lot of gay people it is just a normal way of life,” says Gary Mercado, who runs the Elysium Resort, the largest gay hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

When Viagra is taken with amphetamines, “you forget about having protective sex, so there are huge capabilities of transmitting all sorts of sexual diseases”, he says.

Pfizer says that a very small percentage of people abuse Viagra, but accepts there is great potential in developing the market for sexual pharmaceuticals.

Meika Loe, author of the book The Rise of Viagra, agrees: “In the Viagra era, sexuality is subject to the cult of efficiency. It&39;s-ised. Serve it up fast and hot.”

The Money Programme: Viagra: The Hard Sell was broadcast at 2200 GMT on Wednesday, 9 February on BBC Two .

November 21, 2007

Impotence fears hit polio drive

Filed under: Erectile Dysfunction — alsi @ 10:05 pm



Health officials in Pakistan say they have failed to immunise over 160,000 children against polio due to rumours the vaccine causes sexual impotence.

Parents in parts of northern Pakistan told the BBC news website they feared an “American conspiracy” to cut the fertility of the next generation.

Pakistan is one of four countries the World Health Organisation (WHO) says is a source of polio.

The WHO has led a $196m-a-year campaign to control the disease in Pakistan.

At least 39 cases of polio were reported in 2006, 15 of them in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The NWFP and the tribal areas account for 20% of those targeted for immunisation.

Worldwide 1,902 cases of polio were reported during the year, a recent WHO report said.

A WHO meeting in Geneva last October heard that children paralysed by polio around the world were infected by viruses originating from Pakistan, Erectile dysfunction vacuum therapy, India and Nigeria.

Radio rumours

The main opposition to the drive in Pakistan came from local clerics who run illegal FM radio channels in many NWFP districts and the tribal areas, say officials.

Amirullah Khan, a resident of NWFP&39;s aim of making the world polio-free.

Originaly from: Impotence fears hit polio drive

November 20, 2007

New Yorker blames health drink for erection that wouldn’t go away

Filed under: Erectile Dysfunction — alsi @ 8:58 pm

NEW YORK (AP) - A New York City man has sued the maker of the health drink Boost Plus, claiming the vitamin-enriched beverage gave him an erection that would not subside and forced him to seek hospital treatment.

The lawsuit filed by Christopher Woods, of Manhattan, said he bought the nutrition beverage, which is made by the Swiss-based Novartis pharmaceutical company, at a drugstore June 5, 2004.

 

Novartis&39; court papers said he woke up the next morning “with an erection that would not subside” and sought treatment for the condition, called severe priapism. They said Woods, 29, had surgery that day for implantation of a Winter shunt, which moves blood from one area to another.

 

The lawsuit, filed late Monday, said Woods had problems that days later required a hospital visit and penile artery health man sexual uk, a way of closing blood vessels. Closing off some blood flow prevents man health uk of the penis with blood and lessens the likelihood of an erection.

 

Woods&39; lawyer did not return telephone calls for comment Tuesday.

Originaly from: New Yorker blames health drink for erection that wouldn’t go away

November 15, 2007

News - Muslim official raps Islamic world

Filed under: Erectile Dysfunction — alsi @ 11:08 am

A top Muslim official has denounced what he called the extensive backwardness of the Islamic world.

Abdelwahed Belkeziz - Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) - made the stinging attack at meeting in Turkey.

He blamed the rise of Muslim extremism on the feeling of “non prescription viagra” felt by members of the Islamic world.

The meeting also heard a statement from UN chief Kofi Annan calling for Islamic support for Iraq’s government.

Rising extremism

Mr Belkeziz told the foreign ministers from the 57-member states that their countries had a poor record on issues ranging from education and health to economic development.

“The aggregate gross domestic product of all our member states remains lower than that of one single advanced country such as France or Britain,” he said.

The Moroccan secretary general concentrated on the failures of the Islamic umma or community. There was, he said, a sharp contrast between its present and past.



We must fight this extremism resolutely and determinedly at a time when we are working to correct the tainted image of Islam in the world


Abdelwahed Belkeziz
OIC Secretary General

Today, he said, the community was dispersed, divided, diminished and debased, overwhelmed by a debilitating feeling of impotence.

“The powerlessness that the Muslim world is experiencing today and the difficulty of finding solutions to our just causes have been the reason behind the rise of extremism,” he said.

“Fanatics have seen in this an opportunity to commit odious and reprehensible acts… which is why we must fight this extremism resolutely and determinedly at a time when we are working to correct the tainted image of Islam in the world.”

Mr Belkeziz called for wide reaching reform around the world to address the situation.

Parting shot

The conference is the last in which Mr Belkeziz will lead the OIC. He has been secretary general since 2001, but his term in office is coming to an end.

Correspondents say the generic viagra and drug over who will be the next leader is already under way, with the conference hosts, Turkey, keen to take the reins.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul emphasised the “growing interest” his country had in “blog buy trackback url viagra the OIC”.

“We would like to contribute to this by all the means at our disposal and it is in that spirit that my government has decided to put forward a candidate for secretary general of the OIC,” he said.

The Turkish nominee is Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, a 59-year-old teacher, who will face competition from Saudi and Egyptian-backed Salahuddin Qader Chowdhury from Bangladesh and Malaysian Hasny Agam.

Call for unity

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called on the OIC member states to help the new Iraqi interim government, which is due to take power on 30 June.

In a statement read out by the UN special envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, Mr Annan said Iraq was “not a failed state”.

“All of you have an interest in helping the country to surmount the many challenges it faces including the creation of adequate conditions for elections,” Mr Annan’s statement said.

“I appeal to you to respond favourably to the interim government’s request for support,” Mr Annan added.

Iraq and the push for democracy are expected to dominate the three-day conference in Istanbul.


Read source of it on the News - Muslim official raps Islamic world site

November 14, 2007

Viagra Safe for Some Men With Heart Failure

Filed under: Erectile dysfunction pills, Erectile Dysfunction Drugs — alsi @ 2:16 pm

March 9, 2004 — Men with mild to moderate forms of heart
failure may be able to safely use the drug Viagra to treat erectile
dysfunction, a new study shows.

Drug dysfunction erectile medication found selected men with heart failure were able to
use the drug without dangerous side effects if they were not taking nitrates
(drugs commonly used to treat heart failure) and had no evidence of a lack of
blood flow and oxygen to the heart muscle — commonly caused by narrowed heart
arteries.

Previous reports have shown that Viagra could trigger
generic soft tab viagra citrate tablet dangerous drops in blood pressure in these men. But this study
showed that although the drug caused a slight reduction in blood pressure in
this group of 35 men, no one experienced a dangerous drop in blood pressure or
other significant side effects while taking Viagra.

However, Viagra can cause significant decreases in blood
pressure in people taking nitrates and should not be taken by this group.

According to drug dysfunction erectile new, erectile dysfunction affects more
than half of all men aged 40 to 70 and is common among men with heart failure,
both are conditions that are linked to vascular problems. Heart failure is a
condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s
needs.

Despite the fact that ED is common among men with heart
failure, researchers say the effectiveness and safety of treatment of erectile
dysfunction has not been thoroughly studied.

Study Clears Some Viagra Fears

Researchers say initial reports of deaths associated with
Viagra use soon after the drug was released have caused physicians to hesitate
before prescribing the drug to patients with significant heart disease.

However, it is now known that the drug does not increase
heart-related deaths, say researcher Linda J. Webster, MScN, of the University
of Alberta, and colleagues.

In this study, researchers looked at the effects of treating ED
with Viagra in a carefully selected group of 35 men with mild to moderate heart
failure who did not use nitates. The men were randomly divided into two groups:
one took Viagra for six weeks and then switched to a placebo for six weeks, and
the other took a placebo for six weeks and then took Viagra for another six
weeks.

The results appear in the March 8 issue of the Archives of
Internal Medicine
.

The study showed that Viagra caused an average drop in blood
pressure of about 6 mm Hg — an insignificant drop that did not lead to
symptoms.

Researchers found Viagra improved ED and quality of life among
this group, and also appeared to reduce symptoms of depression.

“This study provides new evidence that it is safe and
effective to treat men with ED and moderate heart failure with sildenafil,”
they write.

Read source of it on the Viagra Safe for Some Men With Heart Failure page

November 13, 2007

News - West Wing ends seven-year TV run

Filed under: Erectile Dysfunction — alsi @ 1:26 pm

Read source of it on the News - West Wing ends seven-year TV run page
The final episode of acclaimed political drama The West Wing has been screened in the US, ending the programme’s seven-year run on TV.


Martin Sheen has bowed out as President Josiah Bartlet after serving two terms.


Viewers saw the outcome of the battle between characters played by Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits to be his successor.


The show won Emmy Awards for best TV drama in four successive years and has the record for most Emmys in a single season, with nine in its first year.


Set in the West Wing of the White House, the programme followed the administration of the fictional Democratic president.

THE WEST WING FACTS
The cast and writers of The West Wing at the Emmy Awards in 2001
First shown in the US in 1999
Follows a fictional Democratic White House administration
Won 24 Emmy Awards
Won a record nine Emmys for its first season
NBC dropped it after ratings dropped to half the audience of its heyday

Broadcaster NBC decided in January to drop the drama because ratings had declined.


At its peak, it was among the most popular shows on US cream female viagra vigorelle with audiences of 17 million, and was frequently praised by critics.


But the current season made its debut with 7.6 million viewers in a new Sunday night slot.


The West Wing’s use of intricate terminology, delivered during punchy back-and-forth dialogues between the characters, could also baffle viewers unfamiliar with the finer points of US politics and law.


Actor John Spencer, who played chief of staff Leo McGarry, died last December after a heart attack.


In a sad coincidence, his character had also suffered coronary failure - but in the programme, McGarry recovered and returned to politics.


This final series of The West Wing had to be rewritten in order to fill the gap left by the death of the popular actor.

Actor Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe reprised his role as Sam Seaborn as the show ended

Former cast members agreed to return to the show as it cheapest viagra in uk its final episodes.


Rob Lowe reprised his role as Sam Seaborn, who had been the deputy communications director.


Lowe had left in 2003, with a dispute about his salary rumoured to be to blame.


Mary-Louise Parker and Emily Proctor - who is now one of the stars of CSI: Miami - have also come back to The West Wing.


The programme’s creator, Aaron Sorkin, left the show after its fourth series in 2003, with NBC bringing in a new team of writers.


Sunday’s last edition saw the erectile dysfunction pill of a new leader to replace President Bartlet.


Viewers in the UK must wait approximately three months to see it as digital channel More 4 has only shown 10 episodes of the 22 in series seven.

November 12, 2007

Raynaud’s Phenomenon - Treatment Overview

Filed under: Erectile dysfunction pills, Erectile Dysfunction Drugs — alsi @ 2:52 pm


Raynaud’s phenomenon, although the condition often can
be effectively controlled. You may be able to limit or lessen the severity of
attacks by keeping warm; managing emotional stress; and avoiding erectile dysfunction help or
other substances that affect blood flow, such as nicotine, caffeine, or cold
medications that contain pseudoephedrine. Avoiding beta-blockers, which are
often used to treat high blood pressure and fast or irregular heart rates, is
also advised. Beta-blocker medications slow the heart rate and decrease how
forcefully the heart contracts, causing even less blood to flow through your
capillaries and making symptoms of Raynaud’s worse.

If Raynaud’s phenomenon can’t be effectively controlled with home
treatment and it interferes with daily activities, your health viagra soft may
prescribe medications. Medications such as
calcium channel blockers (including nifedipine),
sildenafil, erectile dysfunction drugs II receptor antagonists (such as losartan), how to overcome impotence (such as
purchase sildenafil citrate and hydralazine), which are used to treat high blood
pressure, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (such as fluoxetine) may help increase blood flow to your hands and feet and
relieve symptoms.

Some alternative treatments have shown promise in treating
Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Ginkgo biloba was shown in one study to reduce the
number of Raynaud’s attacks.2 Certain behavioral
therapies have also shown positive results.
Biofeedback training or
autogenic training, in which a person attempts to
control blood flow and skin temperature, may help in treating Raynaud’s
phenomenon.

If the condition is related to an underlying disease, a drug, or a
specific activity (secondary Raynaud’s), treating the underlying disease or
stopping the drug or activity may also decrease the symptoms of Raynaud’s
phenomenon.

Read source of it on the Raynaud’s Phenomenon - Treatment Overview site

November 11, 2007

Health Highlights: Oct. 19, 2007

Filed under: Uncategorized — alsi @ 4:24 pm
Read source of it on the Health Highlights: Oct. 19, 2007 site

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,
compiled by editors of HealthDay:

ADVERTISEMENT

Impotence Drugs to Carry Hearing Loss
Warnings

New warnings about the potential risk of sudden hearing loss will be
added to the labels of Viagra and other drugs to treat erectile
dysfunction, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

While it&39;t know enough to say that it&39;t ignore it either,” he told the
AP.

People who take the drugs and experience hearing loss or ringing in the
ears should stop the medications and contact their doctor, the FDA
said.

—–

San Francisco May Consider Online viagra sales
Site

In what may turn out to be the first step toward opening a
safe-injection site, San Francisco officials co-sponsored a symposium
Thursday on a facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, the only such
program in North America, the Associated Press reported.

At the Vancouver site, about 700 intravenous drug users shoot up
heroin, cocaine and other narcotics under the supervision of nurses. San
Francisco health officials may consider a safe-injection site as a way to
reduce the city&39;s consideration of a
safe-injection site was “erectile dysfunction” and “poor public policy.”

“The underlying philosophy is, &39;s
redesigned its Spanish Web site, CDC en Espanol, with a new look and features meant to
make it more usable and functional.

The redesigned site has a more useful and powerful search engine, quick
access to the 20 most-requested topics of information, a user-friendly A-Z
index, and other features that will make it easier for people to find the
health and science information they seek, the CDC said.

The site, which provides information in Spanish on health issues of
special interest to Hispanic communities, has more than six million
visitors a year and its weekly distribution list includes almost 6,000
members in more than 40 countries.

—–

Sunlight May Decrease Risk of Advanced Breast
Cancer

Exposure to sunlight — which boosts levels of vitamin D in the body –
may reduce the risk of advanced breast cancer, according to a U.S. study
published online this week in the American Journal of
Epidemiology
.

The study of 1,788 breast cancer patients and 2,129 women who didn&39;s risk of breast cancer
because the body manufactures the active form of vitamin D from exposure
to sunlight,” lead researcher Esther John, of the Northern California
Cancer Center, said in a statement. “It is possible that these effects
were observed only among light-skinned women because sun exposure produces
less vitamin D among women with naturally darker pigmentation.”

John and her colleagues emphasized that women should not sunbathe in an
attempt to reduce their breast cancer risk.

“If future studies continue to show reductions in breast cancer risk
associated with sun exposure, increasing vitamin D intake from diet and
supplements may be the safest solution to achieve adequate levels of
vitamin D,” co-researcher Gary Schwartz, of the Impotence pump Cancer
Center at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, said in a
statement.

—–

Bad Habits Increase Osteoporosis
Risk

Smoking, excess alcohol consumption, being underweight, lack of
exercise, and poor nutrition are factors that could increase the risk of
osteoporosis later in life, says an Cheap generic viagra Osteoporosis Foundation
(IOF) report released to mark World Osteoporosis Day on Oct. 20.

Osteoporosis risk factors fall into two main categories, modifiable and
fixed. People can&39;s estimated that the incidence of hip fracture (a major
consequence of osteoporosis) will increase by 310 percent in men and 240
percent in women, according to IOF Chief Executive Officer Daniel
Navid.

Report author and IOF board member Professor Cyrus Cooper said if
“people recognize osteoporosis risk factors when they are young and take
appropriate action, it can have enormous positive impact on their bone
health in later years.”

—–

Millions of American Teens Smoke, Drink, Use
Drugs Each Day: Report

On an average day in 2006, 1.2 million American teens smoked
cigarettes, 631,000 drank, 586,000 used marijuana, almost 50,000 used
inhalants, 27,000 used hallucinogens, 13,000 used cocaine, and 3,800 used
heroin, according to a government report released Thursday.

It also found that on an average day, almost 8,000 adolescents ages 12
to 17 drank alcohol for the first time, about 4,300 used an illicit drug
for the first time, about 4,000 smoked cigarettes for the first time,
almost 3,600 used marijuana for the first time, and about 2,500 abused
pain reliever for the first time.

The report, by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), is based on national surveys conducted and
analyzed by the agency's Office of Applied Studies.

“While other studies have shown that significant progress has been made
in lowering the levels of substance abuse among young people in the last
few years, this report shows many young people are still engaging in risky
behavior,” SAMHSA Drug for treatment of erectile dysfunction Terry Cline said in a prepared
statement.

“By breaking the data down and analyzing on a day-to-day basis, we gain
fresh perspective on how deeply substance abuse pervades the lives of many
young people and their families,” Cline said.

November 10, 2007

News - Why imitation is not always flattering

Filed under: Uncategorized — alsi @ 2:24 pm

Read more on News - Why imitation is not always flattering site
Luxury handbags, DVDs, computer software - all well-known targets of generic viagra on lines. But the UK is being flooded with other fake goods, including teabags. It’s a crime that stabs at the heart of British society and costs billions.

It might look like a real teabag. It will probably cost as much as a real teabag. But who knows what lurks within that flimsy fabric, waiting to unleash its witch’s brew on an unsuspecting drinker whose only mistake is wanting a cuppa?

Everyday goods that consumers assume would be genuine - after all, what self-respecting bad guy would go to the trouble of counterfeiting a box of washing powder? - are increasingly the target of crooks looking to make a quick profit.

“That’s one of the trends. It used to be that luxury goods were primarily the ones being attacked,” says Ruth Orchard, the h order script viagra of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group, a UK-based group that represents more than 200 manufacturers in 30 different countries.

“It’s now every consumer product you can think of: washing powder. Condoms. It’s just unbelievable. And instead of undercutting on price, and being almost able to justify it - you know, ‘We’re doing a service to the consumer because we’re offering them a cheap alternative’ - they’re charging about the same.”

Brew-haha

High-price goods - think dodgy Louis Vuitton handbags or fake Burberry caps - have long been duplicated by those who want to make a quick buck by cashing in on the work that others have done.

Bottle of Viagra

Not an ideal thing to fake

Certain streets in New York and Washington DC, for example, are well-known as places a wannabe fashionista can go for a Kate Spade purse that might only cost $20 instead of the hundreds of dollars the genuine article would fetch.

But now, says Ms Orchard, counterfeiters are manufacturing everything from tea to vodka to children’s sun cream - which while it may seem amusing, is a serious concern for businesses large and small.

“We find it fascinating that there’s actually a huge problem with fake teabags. Would you believe it?” she says. “It’s an enormous problem, and I think it’s pretty much a worldwide problem.

“There are particular brands that are attacked in this way. They tend to be well-known teabag brands. And they’re quite soft viagra, but they’re fake. And they’re sold at approximately the same price.”

This week, the Trading Standards Institute marked World Anti-Counterfeiting Day with a news release that replica England football gear was being faked; shortly afterwards, drug giant Pfizer announced that it feared its best-known product - the anti-impotence drug Viagra - is being copied by counterfeiters and sold in the UK.

Dodgy dealers

A spokesman for Pfizer said: “In one case which came to light, one man in China was dealing in counterfeit Viagra, supplying over a quarter of a million pills a month. He had infiltrated about nine European and Middle Eastern countries and around 10 US states.”

The company says patients should get their drugs from their doctor.

FAKING IT
Counterfeit pharmaceuticals account for 10% of the worldwide legal drug trade

In Italy, 20% of clothes purchased are counterfeits

One in 10 car parts purchased in France are counterfeit

Source: Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting

A consumer is much more likely to run into a counterfeit product at a market or car boot sale rather than at their local supermarket, Ms Orchard says.

“All the reputable retailers are extremely careful about where they get their goods from,” she says. “They have established supply lines. They know where they’re getting things from - and of course they have their own brands.

“What’s more likely is one of those discount stores that opens up all of a sudden - they offer cheap loo rolls, all sorts of normal, everyday items, and they’re really providing an outlet for all the fake goods that are coming through the supply chain from the big boys. Because it’s big, organised criminals that are supplying all of this.”

On the global scale, counterfeiting is huge. The Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting says fakes account for more than 6% of worldwide trade - and like Ms Orchard, they say it’s an expanding area of business.

“The ante has been upped, big time,” she says. “It’s in about the last five years or so that the volume of goods flooding the market has doubled - at least doubled - in terms of quantity and also in terms of range of the goods that are being faked.”

Vodka - dangerous?

In addition to being annoying for the consumer and costly for business, counterfeit goods can also be extraordinarily dangerous.

An investigation into faked Dettol is currently under way in the UK, and people in Britain have been hospitalised over counterfeit vodka, which was found to contain methanol.

Buy low price viagra often have links to organised crime and even terrorism, says Lavinia Carey, the chair of the Alliance Against Counterfeiting and Piracy. Her group believes crooks will search out what’s popular - be it tea or a DVD - and exploit the work of legitimate businesses to line their own pockets.

“They just go for the latest opportunity, what looks like the latest scam, to make themselves millions of pounds,” she said. “If there’s an opportunity in food, well, then they’ll go for it.”

Next Page »