Ukraine, widely regarded as being among the world's worst culprits for the sale and manufacture of counterfeit medicines, has enacted legislation which criminalises the counterfeiting and trafficking of prescription drugs such as
Viagra,
Cialis and
Levitra - to name but a few.
In future, offenders may be punished by fines, confiscation of equipment and raw materials; persistent offenders can be sentenced to five years in prison and, where the production or sale of a counterfeit has resulted in the death of a patient, sentences may be as severe as ten years.
Ukrainian MP Volodymyr Oliynyk, said "
Now the law provides ...not only administrative mechanisms of prosecution, but criminal liability."
75% of the county's MPs voted in favour of extending the criminal code with the intention of preserving the nation's health - a national decision which will benefit the rest of the world.