The impact of proliferation of counterfeit drugs in Tanzania.

This study was designed to investigate the impact of the proliferation of counterfeit drugs and suggest measures to control its importation in Tanzania. The specific objectives were to identify reasons for the increase of importation of counterfeit drugs in Tanzania, to investigate attitude of buyers towards counterfeit drugs in Tanzania and how buyers behave are the acquisition and consumption of counterfeit drugs, to investigate method used by buyers to identify counterfeit drugs business in Tanzania, and to suggest ideal ways of combating counterfeit drugs business. The data were collected through documentary sources, and questionnaires, and it was analysed using SPSS using frequency distribution and descriptive statistics as initial tool of analysis. The findings show that lack of appropriate legislation covering the control of counterfeit drugs business, lack of licensing system to regulate the sale and distribution of counterfeit drugs business, and lack of law enforcement are the factors that leads to the proliferation of counterfeit business in Tanzania. The findings indicate that buyers have negative attitude towards the purchase and consumption of counterfeit drugs. Furthermore, the findings show that users/buyers are not aware of methods used to identify counterfeit drugs when buying drugs from the dealers/shops. The study has also found several measures to deal with counterfeiting business. Policy makers are urged to take effective measures to enact laws to control the manufacture, distribution, sale, and importation of counterfeit drugs in Tanzania.