Concerned about the impact on public health, the Ministry of Health on May 24 called on people to stop buying online health supplements which can be fake or of inferior quality.

“We have observed that unregistered medicines have been in the market including online sales,” said ministry secretary of state Or Vandine at a workshop titled “Law Enforcement Against Counterfeit and Inferior-quality Medicines”.

According to the ministry, the workshop was held after the first one in Kep province last week. It was attended by police officers, officials from the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, and drugstore inspection officials from health departments in 15 provinces.

In her speech, Vandine expressed concern that some of the medicines do not have clear labels and are not registered with the ministry.

Drugstores have been instructed to sell medicines with official import numbers or registration from the ministry and join in the fight against counterfeit or inferior-quality medicines.

“People have to stop buying the health supplements or at least buy them from legal drugstores. Check the packets for import number or registration as our ministry has notified them [the stores] of this information,” she said.

Vandine urged people with health problems to consult with specialist doctors to receive prescription drugs and avoid over-the-counter medication.

“The consumption of prescribed medication is aimed at preventing virus resistance to medicine and possible risks posed by [fake] medication,” she said.