Awareness of Custom Officers on Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Products And The Roles Of Pharmacy Enforcement Officers

Abstract

Background: Counterfeit pharmaceutical products (CPP) is a lucrative business for illegal operators who constantly try to smuggle their products into Malaysia. Full understanding of the roles and duties of pharmacy enforcement division as well as CPP by Royal Malaysian Custom (RMC) officers are pre-emptive to optimize the operation against drug smuggling. Objective: This study is aimed to examine the awareness of RMC officers on CPP and the roles of Pharmacy Enforcement Division (PED) officers at custom ports. Methods: A self-administered structured questionnaire was developed based on the review of relevant Acts and Guidelines. The questionnaire was reviewed by 4 key officers and pre-tested. Stratified purposeful sampling was adopted to recruit RMC officers who worked at 16 custom ports in Sarawak where PED officers were stationed. Ethics approval and permission to collect data were obtained prior to data collection. Results: A total of 110 RMC respondents (48.9% response rate) were sampled. As a whole, the mean scores of awareness level towards CPP and the roles of PED officers are satisfactory at 4.12 (±SD 0.967) and 4.21 (±SD 0.785) respectively. RMC officers who have worked for more than 10 years are significantly having greater awareness towards

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“…In line with this result, the results of the study by Tink indicated that knowledge of Malaysian customs o cials about counterfeit pharmaceutical products and the role of pharmacy executives were su cient to prevent the entry of smuggled pharmaceutical products through the cooperation of pharmacy o cers (12). Gaudiano, in line with the present study's ndings, showed that immediate intermittent action is needed through the collaboration of o cial drug control laboratories, health o cials, police forces, professional organizations, and consumer associations (13). Consistent with the present paper, Garuba also showed that Nigeria's pharmaceutical system's pillars are relatively vulnerable to corruption.…”

“…Tra cking is a multidimensional issue, and it is necessary to identify its various challenges and causes and to consider interventions at different levels. Numerous studies have been conducted on drug tra cking (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). In these studies, the black market and drug tra cking have been emphasized, and it has been stated that more effective control is needed to prevent the black market of drugs (11,12).…”

“…In these studies, the black market and drug tra cking have been emphasized, and it has been stated that more effective control is needed to prevent the black market of drugs (11,12). Accordingly, the customs department is aware of the smuggled pharmaceutical products to prevent their import (13). The need for immediate intervention through the cooperation of o cial drug control laboratories, health o cials, police forces, professional organizations, and consumers' associations to prevent drug tra cking has also been emphasized previously (14,15).…”

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