Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals: Are the U.S. Consumers Aware of the Potential Risks

The presence of counterfeits in the pharmaceutical product market is an increasing risk that places consumers in potential harm, or in some cases, even results in death. While the United States Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to mitigate the risk of counterfeit pharmaceuticals from entering the supply chain, consumers are in the dark regarding the growing dangers that they face. The intent of this study was to determine the overall level of understanding of the U.S. consumer regarding the risk of counterfeit pharmaceuticals to their long-term health and well-being. The hypothesis was that consumers would be unaware of the risk of counterfeit pharmaceuticals due to the lack of federal and state policies communicating or educating consumers.;A questionnaire was utilized for this descriptive quantitative study to determine how respondents from the North East region of the United States identified counterfeit pharmaceuticals as a risk to their overall health, their definition of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and their perceptions of the government actions to mitigate the risk. The sample population from the North East was achieved utilizing volunteerism through the social media application LinkedIn and used Qualtrics as the tool to administer the questionnaire and collect the data. Demographics of the respondents identified that the majority of the sample population in the study were highly educated and in the prime of their careers. Though the respondents are identified as potentially successful individuals, the conclusion was that they were not overly aware of the risk of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The findings determined that these respondents did not fully understand what defined a counterfeit pharmaceutical nor did they have a high level of understanding of the risk that exists within the United States. The risk of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in the United States may be relatively low compared to the rest of the world, but the risk does exist. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals will continue to flourish within the United States without a formalized communication policy which will educate consumers regarding the potential risk to their health and long-term well-being.