The "three nos" drug claims that babies can also use the ancestral secret recipe to "cure all diseases" The anti-cancer drugs are all in foreign languages
All kinds of "miracle medicines" are sold on second-hand trading platforms
A white, half-index finger-sized plastic bottle with no other ...... on it other than the words "canker sores" on itMs. Wang, a resident of Dongcheng, Beijing, came home from work and found that there was suddenly such a small gadget on the table in the living room.
It turned out that Ms. Wang's mother often had sores at the corners of her mouth, and a few days ago when she was browsing a second-hand trading platform, she saw a product called "secret medicine for mouth ulcers", because the seller said in the product introduction that it was "mouth ulcers scattered, passed down from the older generation", "it has a miraculous effect on mouth and tongue sores, mouth and tongue sores, mouth and tongue erosion, etc.", so she immediately placed an order.
This so-called 'medicine', not only does not have any instructions for use, but the relevant standards, batch numbers, specifications, ingredients, etc. are not written at all, isn't it a self-made 'three no' product? How can a second-hand trading platform still sell such a thing casually? Ms. Wang felt something was wrong and threw it directly into the trash.
Ms. Wang's concerns are not unfounded. A recent investigation by the reporter of "Rule of Law**" found that many users sell drugs on second-hand trading platforms, including unsealed drugs, foreign drugs, "ancestral secret recipes", homemade Chinese medicines and Chinese herbal medicines. Such sellers usually do not have relevant business qualifications, but all kinds of internal or external drugs are quietly circulated through second-hand trading platforms.
The interviewed experts pointed out that drugs are a special commodity, and they need to go through strict approval procedures for listing and circulation, and there are qualification requirements for sales. Most drug transactions in the second-hand trading platform not only cannot guarantee the quality, but also cannot guarantee that the name and content of the drug are consistent, which has great safety risks and must be banned. On the issue of drug trading on second-hand trading platforms, all parties should actively cooperate with relevant national laws and regulations to jointly safeguard the order of the drug market and the rights and interests of consumers.
Ancestral recipes flood the major platforms
Claims to have super efficacy and cure all diseases
According to the clues provided by Ms. Wang, the reporter found a seller selling mouth ulcer powder on a second-hand platform.
In the detail page of a product with a price tag of 50 yuan, the seller detailed it: "This is a secret recipe handed down by the older generation, and the ingredients of pure Chinese medicine are ......."The older generation has this formula by chance, and it has always been used by the family with their own people, and then more and more people are looking for people in the village and outside, and some people are looking for people to carry or drive from afar, and they all reflect that it is very easy to use, and it is a miracle ......”
In addition, the seller also specially reminded that the medicine can also be used by infants and young children, and even "immediate results, babies have mouth ulcers, crying non-stop, do not sleep and do not drink milk, and can drink milk normally after using the medicine, and sleep peacefully".
After the reporter contacted the seller in a private message, the other party replied that "the recipe is handed down from the ancestors", as for whether there is a medical qualification certificate, business qualification, whether the drug has a national batch number, etc., the other party said: "It is made by myself, the raw materials are very safe, and I will buy it if I believe it." ”
After the reporter purchased it, it was found that as described by Ms. Wang, the medicine bottle was very small, and there was no other text description on the bottle except for the words "mouth ulcer" on the sticker. After opening the cap, the inside is black-gray powder, the bottle mouth is not plasticized, there is a slight leakage, and the desiccant is crumpled and squeezed into the bottle.
Subsequently, the reporter contacted the seller again and asked "why there are no relevant instructions such as ingredients", and the other party said: "The ingredients are edible ingredients such as jujubes and alum, don't worry." However, when the reporter mentioned that it said in the product introduction that "pure Chinese medicine" and "made of a variety of Chinese medicines", and asked "what kind of Chinese medicine there is", the other party said that it was inconvenient to disclose, and just blindly urged the reporter to confirm the receipt.
The next day, when the reporter browsed the product introduction page again, he found some changes - the seller's nickname and avatar were changed, and the "ancestral secret recipe" and "pure Chinese medicine" in the original title were only "ancestral recipes". The text related to "traditional Chinese medicine" and the content related to the use of infants and young children mentioned in the introduction have all been deleted.
There are many so-called "ancestral secret recipes" like "canker sores" on second-hand trading platforms. Recently, the reporter searched on a number of second-hand trading platforms with keywords such as "secret recipe", "ancestral recipe" and "secret medicine", and found that many sellers claimed that the drugs they sold were "ancestral secret recipes" and that they were from a family of traditional Chinese medicine, but they could not get any medical certificates, and the drugs sold did not have any official qualifications.
For example, a seller named "Ancient Skin Care Chinese Medicine" sells a "Codonopsis Radix Ten Great Tonic Chinese Medicine Essence Water", which claims to have "eight flavors of Chinese medicine, hydrating, moisturizing, whitening, lightening, repairing, moisturizing, and moisturizing, which is a product that is not available on the market, and has a concentration that is not available on the market". This 100ml essence water, priced at 138 yuan, is a brown liquid in a transparent glass bottle in the picture of the product, and the bottle is empty.
When the reporter asked if he could tell the ingredients of the drug, the seller kept silent: "This is a secret recipe, and it is revealed that it will be stolen." The seller's location displayed on the product page is "Chaoyang District, Beijing", but the seller said that he chose it at random, and the actual location is in Chengdu, Sichuan.
Under the name of another seller named "Express Department Store Mother and Child Museum", there is a "miracle drug" with an unusually rich profile - this "Royal Oman Green Milk Secret Recipe Navel Pill", which is known as "only 10 bottles of 3 catties of medicinal materials, super medicinal grade, and out-of-print exclusive", is sold at a broken price for only 38 yuan and free shipping.
The seller said that his ancestors were well-known local old Chinese medicine practitioners, and his family members also worked in pharmaceutical factories, and many refining techniques belonged to personal secret recipes, and the raw materials came from the old roots of deep mountain medicinal materials. As for the efficacy of the drug, the seller even boasted that it can cure all diseases, invigorate blood and eliminate blood stasis, antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-cancer, repair cell activity ......
In addition to various "ancestral secret recipes", there are also many people on the second-hand trading platform who peddle various traditional Chinese medicine materials (raw materials)* claiming to be "home-grown" and "self-picked", including wild ginseng, purple ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, etc. A seller directly released a variety of Chinese herbal medicines, saying that "the family has been collecting wild Chinese herbal medicines for 40 years, and all Chinese herbal medicines are wild", as long as you buy enough pounds, you can basically get free shipping.
Resell leftover medicine to others
Imported anti-cancer drugs are also sold at will
The reporter browsed a number of second-hand trading platforms and found that in addition to the "three nos" self-made "secret medicines", there are also many "second-hand goods" that are regular drugs. Some sellers posted the packaging boxes of the drugs they bought, claiming that this was the drug that they had not used up through their previous regular channels.
It is worth noting that if you directly search for keywords such as "cold medicine" and "antipyretics" on the platform, you will often directly display no related products, but if you only search for symptom names such as "cold" and "dizziness", or search for drug names such as "Motrin", you can see that multiple sellers are peddling related drugs.
In the above search results, many "second-hand" drugs are foreign drugs. For example, a seller of "baby's magic house" put out a drug with Japanese on the outer packaging, saying that it was "an imported drug for malignant tumors, don't ask if you don't understand, and it is cheaper for symptomatic patients".
In fact, whether it is a drug that has been "bought but not used" or the so-called "ancestral secret recipe", selling it privately on a second-hand trading platform is suspected of violating laws and regulations.
Zheng Zhongchen, director of Beijing Lutong Law Firm, told reporters that according to the Drug Administration Law and other relevant laws and regulations, the production, operation and use of drugs must strictly abide by the regulations of the State Drug Administration. Without approval, private individuals are not allowed to sell medicines, including imported drugs. All drugs sold on the Internet must comply with the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Drug Online Sales" and other relevant regulations, first of all, the sale of drugs must be qualified for online drug sales, and must be filed with the State Drug Administration. Secondly, the enterprise that sells drugs must obtain a drug business license, and the sales personnel must obtain the certification of "Good Management Practice for Drug Operation". In addition, all drugs sold must obtain a drug registration certificate approved by the National Medical Products Administration, and the approval number must be marked on the drug packaging.
Zheng Zhongchen said that for traditional Chinese medicine, in addition to complying with the above regulations, it is also necessary to comply with the relevant regulations of the national traditional Chinese medicine administration. For example, for traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces, sales enterprises must obtain the certification of "Quality Management Practice for Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Pieces". For proprietary Chinese medicines, sales enterprises must ensure that their production and operation comply with the requirements of the Good Manufacturing Practice for Proprietary Chinese Medicines and the Good Management Practice for the Operation of Proprietary Chinese Medicines.
According to lawyer Ma Tao, a partner of Beijing Haotian Law Firm, traditional Chinese medicine, like chemical drugs and biological products, is a category of drugs, and its development, production, operation, use, supervision and management activities should be subject to the Drug Administration Law. Drugs are special commodities, and individuals have no right to engage in drug trading activities without authorization. Otherwise, according to Article 115 of the Drug Administration Law, the regulatory authorities have the right to confiscate the drugs sold and illegal gains, and impose a fine of between 15 and 30 times the value of the illegally sold drugs (including sold and unsold drugs); If the value of the goods is less than 100,000 yuan, it shall be calculated as 100,000 yuan.
Ma Tao said that imported drugs are sold in China must obtain an imported drug registration certificate, distributors must obtain drug business license qualifications, and individuals sell imported drugs outside the second-hand trading platform, which is a drug administration law listed in the "import of drugs without obtaining drug approval documents", in violation of the provisions of "prohibiting the production and import of drugs without obtaining drug approval documents" and "engaging in drug business activities without permission", the regulatory authorities have the right to confiscate illegal imports and sales of drugs and illegal gains, and impose fines. If the circumstances are serious, it will also constitute a criminal offense.
In addition, it should be pointed out that even if you have the corresponding qualifications to sell drugs, not all drugs can be sold through Internet channels, and drugs that are subject to special management in accordance with the law, such as vaccines, blood products, ** products, psychotropic drugs, etc., are not allowed to be sold on the Internet. Ma Tao said.
For self-made traditional Chinese medicine, Ma Tao believes that its characterization should be judged comprehensively from the name, publicity and sales means, purpose, etc., if the product is used for the disease of the first person, with specific indications or functional indications, it should be characterized as a drug. As a drug, its production must obtain a drug production license, and its sale must obtain a business license, otherwise it constitutes unlicensed production and sales. In addition, if the online sales entity is an individual, it does not meet the identity requirements of "a drug marketing authorization holder or a drug trading enterprise with the ability to ensure the safety of drugs sold online".
Deng Liqiang, executive director of the China Health Law Society, introduced that according to laws and regulations, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners must be registered and recognized by the administrative department and meet certain conditions before they can obtain the qualification certificate of traditional Chinese medicine doctors. Drugs must be registered to obtain a registration certificate, the production and sales of traditional Chinese medicine pieces are managed in the whole process, and it is illegal to sell "secret prescription medicines" without registration.
In Zheng Zhongchen's view, in modern society, the best of traditional Chinese medicine should be a legal and formal channel. If someone claims that their medicinal materials are "home-grown" or "self-picked", and involve rare medicinal materials such as wild ginseng, purple ginseng, and reishi, don't be gullible. First of all, some Chinese medicinal materials are usually wild plants under national key protection, and picking and selling them without permission may be suspected of violating the law. Secondly, even home-grown medicinal herbs need to comply with national planting norms and standards to ensure their quality and safety. Herbs grown and harvested by individuals may not have been formally inspected and approved, and their quality and safety cannot be guaranteed.
Strictly review the transaction information of the platform
Effectively ensure the safety of drug use by the public
The quality of the drugs on the second-hand trading platform cannot be guaranteed, and even the name and content of the drug cannot be guaranteed, and it is possible to eat the life-threatening drugs. There are also some drugs that are all described in foreign languages, and there is no guarantee of drug safety. In Deng Liqiang's view, drug-related issues cannot be left to chance. If someone takes the above-mentioned drugs and suffers personal injury, the seller shall bear tort liability, and if the platform fails to fulfill the statutory review obligation, the drug purchaser also has the right to require the platform to bear the corresponding joint and several liability.
Ma Tao believes that if the unlicensed operation of drugs seriously endangers individual health or has caused physical damage, in addition to civil tort liability and administrative liability, it may also bear criminal liability. According to the law, if the drug is sold without a license, and the drug is detected to be enough to seriously endanger the health of the individual or has caused physical injury, the seller may constitute the crime of obstructing the drug administration; If the sale of drugs is identified as counterfeit or inferior drugs, it will constitute the crime of producing and selling counterfeit drugs.
It is worth noting that in the trading rules of many second-hand trading platforms, drugs are included in the list of prohibited and restricted goods. There are also many sellers who have been punished by the platform for selling drugs. However, there are still a large number of drug transactions on second-hand trading platforms, and even if the account is found to be in violation, it is easy for sellers to "make a comeback".
In October last year, Ms. Mei from Shantou, Guangdong Province, was directly deducted 20 points of platform credibility points for publishing an idle test kit on a second-hand trading platform, removed all her published products, and was restricted from publishing products, leaving messages, and editing personal homepages for 7 days.
It's such a shame that I posted more than 80 items and all of them disappeared at once. I didn't know that all medical-related products couldn't be sent, and I searched in advance before I sent them, and I saw that someone was selling them, so why was I convicted of violating the rules? The platform can obviously remind me that there are violations in the content when I publish it. Ms. Mei was very angry about being convicted of violating the rules this time, but this punishment was not very serious for her, "I simply cancelled the number and reopened a number, and the violation record was also emptied."
Regarding the issue of drug trading on the banned second-hand trading platform, according to Ma Tao, since the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Drug Online Sales" was officially issued in September 2022, the State Drug Administration has emphasized that drug regulatory departments at all levels should supervise and guide drug online sales enterprises to earnestly perform their main responsibilities; supervise and guide third-party platforms to establish and improve the drug online sales management system; It is necessary to focus on the outstanding problems of drug online sales, adhere to both the symptoms and the root causes, and focus on containment, strong pressure, and long-term deterrence.
Under the new model of 'Internet + pharmaceutical sales', drug-related trading should strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations on online drug sales, enhance compliance awareness, strengthen compliance management, and clarify the legal responsibilities of all parties, so as to protect the safety of public drug use and safeguard the rights and interests of public health. Ma Tao said.
In Zheng Zhongchen's view, on the issue of drug trading on second-hand trading platforms, all parties should actively cooperate with relevant national laws and regulations to jointly safeguard the order of the drug market and the rights and interests of consumers. Regulatory authorities should increase the supervision of second-hand trading platforms, crack down on drug-related violations, and protect the rights and interests of consumers. The platform party should assume regulatory responsibility, strictly review drug transaction information, and put an end to unapproved drug listing and trading. For violations, measures should be taken immediately to stop them and report to the relevant departments in a timely manner. The seller must have a legal** certificate to ensure the compliance and safety of the drugs sold. At the same time, it is not allowed to falsely advertise the effect of drugs and mislead consumers.
Zheng Zhongchen warned consumers that if individuals buy and sell drugs on second-hand platforms, it is recommended to first confirm whether the drugs have been approved and inspected by the relevant departments, whether the outer packaging meets the national requirements for drug packaging and labeling, and whether the seller has legal sales qualifications. If in doubt, you should consult a legal professional or report to the drug regulatory department to avoid damage to your legitimate rights and interests.
* Rule of Law** Author: Sun Tianjiao.
Edited by Zeng Jiajia.
Process Editor: Yan Shengmiao.