Healthy Habits: Imposter Drugs (and Abreva Giveaway)

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Looks can bedeceiving, especially with all the choices and sophisticated packaging. Abreva,a leading OTC cold sore treatment brand, recently commissioned a study to drawattention to the importance of comparing the ingredients in branded versus‘look-alike’ products. (Although much of this information is specific to cold-sores, the same can apply to any OTC treatment.)
In the survey, whichasked 1,000 American adults ages 18 and older about how closely they payattention to the ingredients in “look-alike” treatments, it revealed 66 percentof Americans believe that when “look-alike treatments” have the same or similarpackaging as the name-brand treatment, that it is likely that they have thesame ingredients. Additionally, 93 percent of Americans admit to purchasing the“look-alike treatments” in the past solely because they are less expensive.             Totreat cold sores, there is only one over-the-counter product available that isFDA approved to speed the healing of cold sores. That product is Abreva, whichcontains 10 percent docosanol. Several “look-alike” cold sore treatments touthealing claims, but contain the ingredient Benzalkonium Chloride instead of docosonal.The FDA recently issued a warning letter to a marketer and distributor of a productcontaining benzalkonium chloride that is making the claim on its product’slabel that it heals cold sores. The FDA found that the active ingredient,benzalkonium chloride, is not indicated as a cold sore treatment and may notmake cold sore healing claims because there is no scientific evidence tosupport claims that it heals cold sores.
“If you’re in doubtabout what treatment to look for, ask your pharmacist if both products have the same active ingredients.This will allow youto make an educated purchasing decision based on facts and not packaging orcost,” said Marquess.
To help raise awareness of imposter vs. real drugs, Abreva is sponsoring a giveaway. Three winners will each receive a tube. To enter, post in the comments if you've ever purchased a look-alike brand of a drug, and how it turned out. Deadline is July 13th.