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-Editorial
The Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) suspended activities of 31 pharmacies and/or points of sale located in the state of Baja California, where medications were sold irregularly, probably contaminated with fentanyl, which represents a significant risk to public health.
The health operation called Albatros II, due to the territorial extension it covered, the number of personnel assigned, and the distribution of strategic tasks in the territory, was conducted by specialized personnel from Cofepris, in coordination with elements of the Ministry of the Navy (Semar), which It allowed the simultaneous execution of visits in various parts of the municipality of Ensenada.
This action was carried out thanks to citizen complaints, setting a precedent in the region that receives millions of tourists annually, so information on various health irregularities was received and analyzed.
As part of the ground tasks, 53 verification visits were carried out in the same number of establishments, the results of which are summarized in the suspension of activities in 31 pharmacies, as well as the seizure of 4,681 boxes of medicines. In addition, sampling was carried out to analyze possible counterfeits, adulterations, or the presence of fentanyl in the products.
With the execution and results of the Albatros II operation in Baja California, Cofepris reiterates the commitment to protect the population against establishments that fail to comply with current regulations and prevent the irregular marketing of controlled medications, whose consumption without proper medical supervision endangers health. and lives of those who use them.
Consequently, Cofepris calls on the population to report similar situations through the designated electronic page: https://bit.ly/414TFXf Cofrepris maintains health surveillance actions to guarantee that products, companies, and establishments comply with current legislation, thus avoiding health risks.
Fentanyl is a very powerful pain reliever that was synthesized in 1960 and approved by the FDA in 1968. From 1968 to 1996 it was used in open heart operations and as a cancer treatment; From 1996 to 2013, several pharmaceutical companies in the United States were authorized to distribute the painkiller in pharmacies, and its purchase by prescription was authorized, which generated a pandemic in the United States because it is extremely addictive. In 2013 it was banned because the number of deaths began to increase extraordinarily.
The Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (in Spanish, Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios, Cofepris) is a regulatory body of the Mexican government. It is a decentralized organ of (and supervised by) the Mexican Secretariat of Health, and is responsible for regulating a variety of health related topics in Mexico, including food safety, pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices, organ transplants, and environmental protection.
