Counterfeit version of Viagra and other drugs are making ordering online dangerous

(WXYZ) - The result of some recent pharmaceutical industry surveys show the demand for sexual therapy drugs
has skyrocketed over the past couple of years, and with the demand, the number of counterfeit pills produced on the black market has also grown.

The proof is found by investigators who have raided actual makeshift production labs that were making fake Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. But how can you make sure you won't be putting your health at risk by buying counterfeit drugs? This story may help.

Industry investigators hired to locate bogus drug making facilities have raided locations like the dirty, disgusting warehouse, with fungus growing on the walls in China where detectives busted counterfeiters making fake Viagra.

In Ecuador, boric acid was one of the pill ingredients in the fake drug lab found there. In Montreal, commercial grade wall paint was used to give pills color. In Columbia, pills were made using sheet rock and rat poison and in Hungary, the fake drug contained speed!

"If you're taking a pill that has rat poison, lead, or boric acid you could become potentially very ill from that, and possibly even have a fatal complication," says Dr. Jed Kaminetsky, M.D., a practicing urologist. He says the real pills help treat erectile dysfunction or ED.

The fakes won't help anyone, and could be dangerous.

U. S. Customs is seizing counterfeits through the mail and package carriers, even finding some hidden in door bells. Federal investigators are stepping up enforcement as pill counterfeiting becomes more common.

In 2010, agents nabbed about 330 shipments of fake ED drugs. So far this year, the number stands at 1200.

Therese Randazzo is with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”A lot of these drugs are ordered over the internet from what appear to be legitimate pharmacies and are shipped directly to the patients by the counterfeiters," she says.

Unfortunately, it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish the fake pills from authentic medications because knock-offs look so convincing. Even drug companies have to take a closer look!

Patrick Ford with Pfizer global security tells us, "We can't tell quite often until we get it into our lab and test them chemically."

When investigators from Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, actually ordered their popular "little blue pill" from 26
online pharmacies, 81% percent of the pills turned out to be counterfeit!

As for the counterfeiter, Ford says, “ nobody is looking to see how he's making his product. That's why counterfeit pills are so dangerous” Ford says.

Now, drug companies are fighting back, on the front lines of drug raids, aggressively pursuing counterfeiters and taking legal action.

Experts say not all online pharmacies deserve a bad rap. Just make sure you buy from a website that has the blue oval "vipps" seal of approval on it and confirm that it's on the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy list of approved pharmacies .

"They just have to be careful,” says Carmen Catizone, executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. “They have to do some research, and they have to make sure that when they're ordering medications that it's a legitimate and legal pharmacy."

If you think you may have purchased counterfeit medication, contact the company that makes the drug you intended to order. It may test the pills for you. You should also contact your doctor and report it to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration .