European Union prepares to tackle counterfeit drugs

European legislators are preparing new measures to clamp down on the sale of counterfeit drugs and to warn the public of the dangers of buying unauthorised drugs on the internet.

The European parliament’s environment and public health committee has given overwhelming backing (51 members for, none against, and three abstentions) to moves to tackle the network of criminals exploiting gaps in existing controls.

Marisa Matias, the European United Left member from Portugal who is steering the draft legislation through the parliament, described the counterfeiting of drugs as “a form …