Learn more about counterfeit medicines

Drug counterfeiting is an increasing problem facing the worldwide pharmaceutical industry. The World Health Organisation defines counterfeit products as those that may include correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients, or with fake packaging.

Counterfeit medicines can affect patients in various ways - at one extreme, through having no effect whatsoever on your condition (e.g. where no active ingredient is present in the medicine), through to the opposite extreme where deaths have been reported in both Africa and Asia.

Distribution of counterfeit medicines has been made much easier through market globalisation, particularly through the use of internet suppliers of so-called lifestyle drugs. It is currently estimated that counterfeit medicines account for between 6% and 10% of worldwide sales of medicines. In the UK there is evidence that over half the so-called Viagra pills sold on-line could be counterfeit. There is therefore a very real chance of obtaining these fake medicines if you accidentally source them from an unscrupulous internet pharmacy. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has taken steps to reduce the likelihood of this occurring in the UK by introducing a new green logo to approved internet pharmacy websites; you will see this logo on our site here. This is your assurance that the drugs you will receive from us are genuine and from a validated source.
 
In addition, because drugs such as Viagra® are particularly prone to counterfeiting, Pfizer Limited has officially endorsed Central Homecare as an authorised internet supplier of Viagra®. With this assurance you can be certain that the drugs you will receive from us are certified UK stock only.
 
The supply of counterfeit drugs into the UK is a criminal offence and the Medicines and Heathcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) may well instigate proceedings against unscrupulous suppliers. Please help the UK Government stamp out the importation of counterfeit medicines by supporting only approved internet pharmacies.

How to spot counterfeit Viagra®

Counterfeit Viagra® may look just like the real thing; both the pills and the packaging can appear to be identical. So how can you tell whether you have received the genuine product? There are a number of ways to check:
The price you will be expected to pay is invariably cheaper than for genuine Viagra®. In the UK the NHS list price of Viagra® is as follows:

Pack size price
25mg x 4 - £16.59
25mg x 8 - £33.19
50mg x 4 - £21.27
50mg x 8 - £42.54
100mg x 4 - £23.50
100mg x 8 - £46.99

You should not expect to find genuine Viagra® at a price below that listed above.

Many websites promoting the sale of Viagra® look genuine. Unfortunately, it is quite easy to produce a professional-looking website. To be certain that you will receive genuine product, look for the green logo confirming that the on-line pharmacy is approved by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.