Illegal trade of substandard and false medicines in Europe mainly takes place online. The internet is used to sell medicines illegally and to spread false or misleading claims about the products being sold. Patients and consumers rarely check official websites to verify medical claims, making them susceptible to buying false and poor-quality products.
Social media can be a powerful tool for communication to raise awareness on the issue. For this reason, the Committee of Experts on Minimising Public Health Risks Posed by Falsification of Medical Products and Similar Crimes (CD-P-PH/CMED) gathered information from health authorities on how best to use social media to promote messages and advance their objectives. The compilation of best practices was created to support national regulatory authorities regarding their use of social media in communicating with the general public to raise awareness and knowledge on the issue of falsified medical products.
Let’s use social media effectively to communicate important messages and combat the spread of false medical claims and substandard and false medicines together.
