Woman Nabbed For Bringing Home "cheap" Bangkok Medicines

[Jing Joe]

They are mostly third generation antibiotics and ointments,

does that mean they have been repackaged three times?

It may have been nature that provided the real 1st generation antibiotics.

Drug compaies followed with 2nd generation, namely the wonder drug;- penicillin.

Then followed stronger and different 3rd and maybe 4th generation? I dont know.

It could be that in the future, the next "generations" may be derived from nature, but the drug companies will still hopefully only be able to patent a look-alike molecule because the natural ones can't be patiented.

Unfortunately in this situation the side effects suffered from look-alike molecules have to put up with, and usually other drugs are prescribed to counteract them.

Given that your question was serious, I believe this is the usual reference to generations of medications for Drugs and Natural medications.

[udon]

Costco Pricing Info

[nikster]

And, my dear skeptics, don't forget that governments do have a responsibility to monitor the safety of drugs in the marketplace. I wouldn't want to go to my local American drug store and get a knock off version of some pill that may or may not have the purity of the original. They monitor for many reasons, and profits is just one of them. By smuggling drugs, you can end up with inferior drugs, old drugs, ineffective drugs, etc. Let's not be to hard on governments for being involved in this industry.

This is a very good point. I think movement of people and goods should be free everywhere, but standards must be maintained.

I don't want buy some meds that came from Burma... scary experience, in Mae Sai on the burmese side the street vendors sell fake porn CDs, fake cigarettes, and other fake goods. Last time I was there I noticed they had added Viagra to their repertoire. Very scary.

Smuggling fake DVDs and CDs is one thing - the money-grabbing music industry monopolists in the west get no sympathy from me.

But smuggling fake medicines can endanger people's lives.

[Niloc]

Another India lover here, next trip will be my thirteenth since 1965. I have a doctor in Delhi who prescribed an alternative to my hypertension drugs, I took enough home to last me one year but they ran out eventually.

I just didn't take anything for a couple of years but early this year we went to Burma for a short trip (via Mae Sai), I found out there are 'Indian' pharmacies in the larger towns so I managed to find the stuff I needed by showing the label around. You can get anything else you want also, cheaper even than India!

You can go to Burma on a 30 day pass, the only restriction is that you must exit through the same border post you enter. We had a great time...

[fruittbatt]

And, my dear skeptics, don't forget that governments do have a responsibility to monitor the safety of drugs in the marketplace. I wouldn't want to go to my local American drug store and get a knock off version of some pill that may or may not have the purity of the original. They monitor for many reasons, and profits is just one of them. By smuggling drugs, you can end up with inferior drugs, old drugs, ineffective drugs, etc. Let's not be to hard on governments for being involved in this industry.

This is a very good point. I think movement of people and goods should be free everywhere, but standards must be maintained.

I don't want buy some meds that came from Burma... scary experience, in Mae Sai on the burmese side the street vendors sell fake porn CDs, fake cigarettes, and other fake goods. Last time I was there I noticed they had added Viagra to their repertoire. Very scary.

Smuggling fake DVDs and CDs is one thing - the money-grabbing music industry monopolists in the west get no sympathy from me.

But smuggling fake medicines can endanger people's lives.

Some interesting points of debate emerge from the two quotes above:

Don't let us forget that many of the so-called "dangerous" medicines sold in places like Burma and parts of Africa come from Western drug companies selling off products which have been banned or discredited in the West. Yes, there are locally-produced "knock-offs" of Western pharmaceuticals, but they are not automatically inferior or dangerous...see "Old Geezer's" post on the very low cost of producing the pharmaceuticals which make the big Western drug companies such outrageous profits.

If there is a widespread fear that locally produced medicines are "inferior" then how is it that millions of Thai people and farangs use these products daily and do actually recover from their ailments? In my opinion the case against the woman from Cebu rests on a very dubious and racist distinction between Western/Philippines?US (expensive)=good medicine and Asian/Thai(cheap)=bad medicine.

What is really at stake here? I don't think this issue is so much about "bad" medicine or tax-evasion, but about erosion of profits from the greedy pharmaceutical giants of the West, the same guys who get even bigger guaranteed profits under the terms of so-called "Free Trade Agreements" between the US and Asian countries. If Western pharmaceutical giants do gain monopolies for drug supply to these countries, the inevitable result will be that many more people will die because they will simply not be able to afford to buy US medicines.

[Oleg_Rus]

Resolution:

pigs caught [Watch the invectives, Sir.] for being too greedy and not sharing a profit.

Reason:

lots of that smuglers are hanging in the area of Pratunam, Bkk Soi 17 "Little Manila" -[Irrelevant slur deleted.]. Between them - "Camels" - carriers of all crap from Los - fake creams, drugs, amth... Most likely that "camel" didn't share with local banana boss, hence a tip to Cebu customs.

for last 10 years they brought so much Bangkok Pills and similar to Phil's, so few thusands of pills in the luggage look like few cans of Pepsi.

[fruittbatt]

Resolution:

pigs caught [Watch the invectives, Sir.] for being too greedy and not sharing a profit.

Reason:

lots of that smuglers are hanging in the area of Pratunam, Bkk Soi 17 "Little Manila" -[Irrelevant slur deleted.]. Between them - "Camels" - carriers of all crap from Los - fake creams, drugs, amth... Most likely that "camel" didn't share with local banana boss, hence a tip to Cebu customs.

for last 10 years they brought so much Bangkok Pills and similar to Phil's, so few thusands of pills in the luggage look like few cans of Pepsi.

Someone certainly tipped off the Cebu Customs, but what has that got to do with the issues I raised? I also find your targetting of one racial minority community in Bangkok distasteful and discriminatory.

[gregchambers]

Well what is the actual position with taking Vitamin V back to the UK, okay if it is a small quantity but not a year's supply? Seem to have read somewhere that generic V is now illegal in the UK???

[terry57]

....Do the USA and UK authorities watch for prescription-type drugs being brought in from Asia?

I don't know, but believe-it-or-not the last time I came in from the US two guys identifying themselves as Thai narcs (badges around their necks and the whole nine yards) went through everything I was bringing in through Don Muang and questioned my US perscription medications as well as the origin of a bottle of Tylenol! Seriously. They asked for copies of the original perscriptions for some sleeping pills I had with me and a bottle of antibiotics I was taking for a bad cold. I told them I didn't carry my perscriptions separately, but that all the same information and the doctor's authorization were both printed on the labels. Of course they labels were in English, and they seemed to have a bit of trouble with that.

Anyway, that sent them into a lengthy conference. After a while, they took a sample of each medication, even the Tylenol, and graciously consented to let me go with a stern warning that they would all be checked to see if I was telling them the truth!

This was the first time in nearly thirty years I have ever had a bag checked coming into Thailand. Maybe I'm looking increasingly sinister in my old age. One can hope........

that is a new one for me as i ain't never heard of such a thing going on especially US narcs checking bags without being pre warned about something going down.

YOU SURE YOU AINT AN EX DRUG RUNNER OLD SON.

just a little joke there, but has any other punters out there had the same thing happen ?

[terry57]

Another India lover here, next trip will be my thirteenth since 1965. I have a doctor in Delhi who prescribed an alternative to my hypertension drugs, I took enough home to last me one year but they ran out eventually.

I just didn't take anything for a couple of years but early this year we went to Burma for a short trip (via Mae Sai), I found out there are 'Indian' pharmacies in the larger towns so I managed to find the stuff I needed by showing the label around. You can get anything else you want also, cheaper even than India!

You can go to Burma on a 30 day pass, the only restriction is that you must exit through the same border post you enter. We had a great time...

hey niloc more info please,

i take pravacol for an inherited colesterol condition and have to take it for ever if i dont want to die from a frigging stroke that is.

its costing me a fortune as its a $100 per month in los.

you think i could get that in burma and save the rest of the money to buy more chang ?

[terry57]

Resolution:

pigs caught [Watch the invectives, Sir.] for being too greedy and not sharing a profit.

Reason:

lots of that smuglers are hanging in the area of Pratunam, Bkk Soi 17 "Little Manila" - [Irrelevant slur deleted.]. Between them - "Camels" - carriers of all crap from Los - fake creams, drugs, amth... Most likely that "camel" didn't share with local banana boss, hence a tip to Cebu customs.

for last 10 years they brought so much Bangkok Pills and similar to Phil's, so few thusands of pills in the luggage look like few cans of Pepsi.

Someone certainly tipped off the Cebu Customs, but what has that got to do with the issues I raised? I also find your targetting of one racial minority community in Bangkok distasteful and discriminatory.

hey fruittbatt,

dont get so batty about our old mate oleg as he could be a real nice fella.

oleg bought up a real good point about all this gear getting smuggled as its a well know fact that los is disneyland when it comes to the good gear yer.

cant cop your point about oleg slagging off one racial minority community as he only mentioned : ( banana boss and cebu customs )

oleg did'nt slam all of the punters as well and blind freddy knows that cebu customs

are up for a bit of tea money.

you know batty, a person should never be slammed for telling the bleeding truth.

its just not kosha old son but i respect your right to raise this point even though you were wrong in this case.

you are only human so dont worry about it.

may penn rai.

[fruittbatt]

Resolution:

pigs caught [snip] for being too greedy and not sharing a profit.

Reason:

lots of that smuglers are hanging in the area of Pratunam, Bkk Soi 17 "Little Manila" - [snip]. Between them - "Camels" - carriers of all crap from Los - fake creams, drugs, amth... Most likely that "camel" didn't share with local banana boss, hence a tip to Cebu customs.

for last 10 years they brought so much Bangkok Pills and similar to Phil's, so few thusands of pills in the luggage look like few cans of Pepsi.

Someone certainly tipped off the Cebu Customs, but what has that got to do with the issues I raised? I also find your targetting of one racial minority community in Bangkok distasteful and discriminatory.

hey fruittbatt,

dont get so batty about our old mate oleg as he could be a real nice fella.

oleg bought up a real good point about all this gear getting smuggled as its a well know fact that los is disneyland when it comes to the good gear yer.

cant cop your point about oleg slagging off one racial minority community as he only mentioned : ( banana boss and cebu customs )

oleg did'nt slam all of the punters as well and blind freddy knows that cebu customs

are up for a bit of tea money.

you know batty, a person should never be slammed for telling the bleeding truth.

its just not kosha old son but i respect your right to raise this point even though you were wrong in this case.

you are only human so dont worry about it.

may penn rai.

Terry- did you read the phrase "little Manila"? and the description of the people who allegedly hang out on said soi? Did you perhaps think that Oleg was referring to some of his mates from the old country....hardly. In my book, that sort of comment spells racism, but hey, I'm sure you'll have no trouble disagreeing with me...Of course that does not make you wrong, my man. nonononono.

[terry57]

Resolution:

pigs caught [snip] for being too greedy and not sharing a profit.

Reason:

lots of that smuglers are hanging in the area of Pratunam, Bkk Soi 17 "Little Manila" - mostly [snip]. Between them - "Camels" - carriers of all crap from Los - fake creams, drugs, amth... Most likely that "camel" didn't share with local banana boss, hence a tip to Cebu customs.

for last 10 years they brought so much Bangkok Pills and similar to Phil's, so few thusands of pills in the luggage look like few cans of Pepsi.

Someone certainly tipped off the Cebu Customs, but what has that got to do with the issues I raised? I also find your targetting of one racial minority community in Bangkok distasteful and discriminatory.

hey fruittbatt,

dont get so batty about our old mate oleg as he could be a real nice fella.

oleg bought up a real good point about all this gear getting smuggled as its a well know fact that los is disneyland when it comes to the good gear yer.

cant cop your point about oleg slagging off one racial minority community as he only mentioned : ( banana boss and cebu customs )

oleg did'nt slam all of the punters as well and blind freddy knows that cebu customs

are up for a bit of tea money.

you know batty, a person should never be slammed for telling the bleeding truth.

its just not kosha old son but i respect your right to raise this point even though you were wrong in this case.

you are only human so dont worry about it.

may penn rai.

Terry- did you read the phrase "little Manila"? and the description of the people who allegedly hang out on said soi? Did you perhaps think that Oleg was referring to some of his mates from the old country....hardly. In my book, that sort of comment spells racism, but hey, I'm sure you'll have no trouble disagreeing with me...Of course that does not make you wrong, my man. nonononono.

cricky's fruittbatt,

you got my brainmatter cranked up now and im still processing your reply as its a very interesting concept you've thrown back at me.

my good self is always up for a bit of intelligent conversation and hold no biased towards no man.

yes i read the little manila quote, but we have little italy, little india, little china and many more so that dont bother me.

as far as the rest of the post goes im real sorry but im cosher with it.

cheers old mate,

ps ive backed you to the hilt on another one of your posts so you'll like that

[robbieh]

I’m not an active poster, but this is one topic close to my heart…

While President Bush is disliked around the world for many reasons, for me personally his biggest crime against humanity stems from the fact that the largest financial backer in his presidential election campaigns were the US Drug (=medicine for Brits) companies and in return he started his term by immediately tying up cheaper imports, i.e. from Canada, with red tape for the next ten years or so.

Not surprisingly, the US drug companies under President Bush have recorded record profits, totally billions of US dollars, as the cost of health care has increased and/or the benefits have been watered down. Ironically, enough the Americans who suffer the most are those who voted him in and the number of Americans who can afford health care has decreased under Bush.

Only a few days ago I sat an discussed this with a Californian guy in length and we laughed at how they had managed to get the “red-neck” vote by portraying George Bush as a “war-hero”, when in fact he only served in the national guard, whilst John Kerry his opponent in the last election, volunteered for Vietnam and was awarded two purple hearts!

In contrast, John Kerry, if elected, pledged to expand the excellent-benefits afforded by the US Senator Health Scheme and make it available for all Americans at an affordable price, which not surprisingly won John Kerry all the major urban areas in the US whilst all the states with an average IQ under 100 were all won by Bush.

However, George Bush did not at just stop at screwing the American people out of affordable health care, but then put political/financial pressure on countries such as India, who incidentally supply all the Thai government hospitals with generic drugs that aren’t make in Thailand, in order that the US Drug companies can make even more profit.

I just can’t imagine the amount of suffering this has caused for the poor around the world when Bush is doing the medicine-equivalent of telling the world “let them eat cake” in order that his electoral backers get billions of USD in return for their investment in him.

And people moan about Toxin, who I’m certainly not a fan of despite him bringing in 50-baht prescriptions, but if you want to find evidence of “evil” in the name of the mighty greenback than there is far more suitable candidates in the world…IMO.

Edited July 27, 2006 by robbieh

[Niloc]

Another India lover here, next trip will be my thirteenth since 1965. I have a doctor in Delhi who prescribed an alternative to my hypertension drugs, I took enough home to last me one year but they ran out eventually.

I just didn't take anything for a couple of years but early this year we went to Burma for a short trip (via Mae Sai), I found out there are 'Indian' pharmacies in the larger towns so I managed to find the stuff I needed by showing the label around. You can get anything else you want also, cheaper even than India!

You can go to Burma on a 30 day pass, the only restriction is that you must exit through the same border post you enter. We had a great time...

hey niloc more info please,

i take pravacol for an inherited colesterol condition and have to take it for ever if i dont want to die from a frigging stroke that is.

its costing me a fortune as its a $100 per month in los.

you think i could get that in burma and save the rest of the money to buy more chang ?

Terry, I cannot tell you for sure but if your dope is a commonly prescribed medication it is probably available in Burma. ie from India. Try a Google search...

I recall going to pharmacies in India and there anything is available, you can buy things like Valium straight over the counter without any prescription.

My prescription cost me about $28.00 a month in Australia, about $12.00 in Thailand and about $4.50 in India and Burma. Take an empty pill box with you so the pharmacist can see what the active ingredient is and give you the same stuff. Probably a different name but as long as the active ingredient is there it will work!!

Best of luck... You will enjoy Myanmar.

[tourleadersi]

Another India lover here, next trip will be my thirteenth since 1965. I have a doctor in Delhi who prescribed an alternative to my hypertension drugs, I took enough home to last me one year but they ran out eventually.

I just didn't take anything for a couple of years but early this year we went to Burma for a short trip (via Mae Sai), I found out there are 'Indian' pharmacies in the larger towns so I managed to find the stuff I needed by showing the label around. You can get anything else you want also, cheaper even than India!

You can go to Burma on a 30 day pass, the only restriction is that you must exit through the same border post you enter. We had a great time...

hey niloc more info please,

i take pravacol for an inherited colesterol condition and have to take it for ever if i dont want to die from a frigging stroke that is.

its costing me a fortune as its a $100 per month in los.

you think i could get that in burma and save the rest of the money to buy more chang ?

Terry, I cannot tell you for sure but if your dope is a commonly prescribed medication it is probably available in Burma. ie from India. Try a Google search...

I recall going to pharmacies in India and there anything is available, you can buy things like Valium straight over the counter without any prescription.

My prescription cost me about $28.00 a month in Australia, about $12.00 in Thailand and about $4.50 in India and Burma. Take an empty pill box with you so the pharmacist can see what the active ingredient is and give you the same stuff. Probably a different name but as long as the active ingredient is there it will work!!

Best of luck... You will enjoy Myanmar.

Cambodia can be pretty good as well Tel. Last time I was working there I went into a pharmacy in Phnom Penh and they seemed to have the works, with English speaking pharmacists who knew their stuff. There is a new chain opening up over there, looks abit like 'Superdrug' back in Blighty. Unfortunately I won't be going back there for a few months or I'd offer to check.

[terry57]

Slightly "Off-Topic" but since I haven't contributed anything & a while & had this on file:

The women that signed below are Budget Analysts out of federal Washington, D.C. offices.

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries.

In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America.

The chart below speaks for itself.

Celebrex 100 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27

Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60

Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin 10 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17

Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71

Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex 250 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39

Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88

Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor 20 mg Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37

Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80

Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasec 10 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29

Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14

Percent markup: 134,493%

Paxil 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27

Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60

Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid 30 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77

Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01

Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97

Cost of general active ingredients $0.52

Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47

Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11

Percent markup: 224,973%

Tenormin 50 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47

Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13

Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec 10 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37

Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20

Percent markup: 51,185%

Xanax 1 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79

Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024

Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril 20 mg Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89

Cost of general active ingredients $3.20

Percent markup: 2,809%

Zithromax 600 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19

Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78

Percent markup: 7,892%

Zocor 40 mg Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27

Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63

Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft 50 mg Consumer price: $206.87

Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75

Percent markup: 11,821%

Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous,

I thought everyone I knew should know about this. Please read the following and pass it on. It pays to shop around. This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner.

On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as

3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo.....three thousand percent!

So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled.

Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients. I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08. I would like to mention, that although Costco is a "membership" type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (this is true, I went there this past Thursday and asked them.)

I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and passing it into your own email, and send it to everyone you know with an email address.

Sharon L. Davis Budget Analyst U.S. Department of Commerce Room 6839 Office Ph: 202-482-4458 Office Fax: 202-482-5480 Email Address: [email protected]

Mary Palmer

Budget Analyst

Bureau of Economic

Analysis Office of Budget & Finance

Voice: (202) 606-9295

Fax: (202) 606-5324

MODS: I received this LONG ago & canNOT vouch for it's authenticity. Please feel free to edit as you see fit.

...O.G.

i must take lipitor in order to keep on living a bit longer.

glad im not in the US having to pay $272 for 100 pills as i pay $90 in aussie for 100 and im complaining about paying that.

this medication is subsidised by the government hence whil'st i pay $90.

this medication in bangkok is approx same as the US.

sounds like the US people must pay full price for all medication.

would i be right in assuming this ?

what is your reason for passing this information on to all people?

im thinking that it is for the peoples own information or do you think we can somehow manage to make change and get the prices lower ?

at the moment the only way to get cheaper medication is to travell to burma or india it seems.

trouble is that the punter is not going to do that unless he's going there anyway.

wish i new this info beforehand as i was in india last year and would have bought heaps of stock.

i plan on going to burma soon for a trip so i'll be stocking up this time.

thanks for this post as most informative.

[fruittbatt]

Resolution:

pigs caught [snip] for being too greedy and not sharing a profit.

Reason:

lots of that smuglers are hanging in the area of Pratunam, Bkk Soi 17 "Little Manila" - mostly [snip]. Between them - "Camels" - carriers of all crap from Los - fake creams, drugs, amth... Most likely that "camel" didn't share with local banana boss, hence a tip to Cebu customs.

for last 10 years they brought so much Bangkok Pills and similar to Phil's, so few thusands of pills in the luggage look like few cans of Pepsi.

Someone certainly tipped off the Cebu Customs, but what has that got to do with the issues I raised? I also find your targetting of one racial minority community in Bangkok distasteful and discriminatory.

hey fruittbatt,

dont get so batty about our old mate oleg as he could be a real nice fella.

oleg bought up a real good point about all this gear getting smuggled as its a well know fact that los is disneyland when it comes to the good gear yer.

cant cop your point about oleg slagging off one racial minority community as he only mentioned : ( banana boss and cebu customs )

oleg did'nt slam all of the punters as well and blind freddy knows that cebu customs

are up for a bit of tea money.

you know batty, a person should never be slammed for telling the bleeding truth.

its just not kosha old son but i respect your right to raise this point even though you were wrong in this case.

you are only human so dont worry about it.

may penn rai.

Terry- did you read the phrase "little Manila"? and the description of the people who allegedly hang out on said soi? Did you perhaps think that Oleg was referring to some of his mates from the old country....hardly. In my book, that sort of comment spells racism, but hey, I'm sure you'll have no trouble disagreeing with me...Of course that does not make you wrong, my man. nonononono.

cricky's fruittbatt,

you got my brainmatter cranked up now and im still processing your reply as its a very interesting concept you've thrown back at me.

my good self is always up for a bit of intelligent conversation and hold no biased towards no man.

yes i read the little manila quote, but we have little italy, little india, little china and many more so that dont bother me.

as far as the rest of the post goes im real sorry but im cosher with it.

cheers old mate,

ps ive backed you to the hilt on another one of your posts so you'll like that

cheers, Terry,

and we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one!

[terry57]

Resolution:

pigs caught [snip] for being too greedy and not sharing a profit.

Reason:

lots of that smuglers are hanging in the area of Pratunam, Bkk Soi 17 "Little Manila" - mostly [snip]. Between them - "Camels" - carriers of all crap from Los - fake creams, drugs, amth... Most likely that "camel" didn't share with local banana boss, hence a tip to Cebu customs.

for last 10 years they brought so much Bangkok Pills and similar to Phil's, so few thusands of pills in the luggage look like few cans of Pepsi.

Someone certainly tipped off the Cebu Customs, but what has that got to do with the issues I raised? I also find your targetting of one racial minority community in Bangkok distasteful and discriminatory.

hey fruittbatt,

dont get so batty about our old mate oleg as he could be a real nice fella.

oleg bought up a real good point about all this gear getting smuggled as its a well know fact that los is disneyland when it comes to the good gear yer.

cant cop your point about oleg slagging off one racial minority community as he only mentioned : ( banana boss and cebu customs )

oleg did'nt slam all of the punters as well and blind freddy knows that cebu customs

are up for a bit of tea money.

you know batty, a person should never be slammed for telling the bleeding truth.

its just not kosha old son but i respect your right to raise this point even though you were wrong in this case.

you are only human so dont worry about it.

may penn rai.

Terry- did you read the phrase "little Manila"? and the description of the people who allegedly hang out on said soi? Did you perhaps think that Oleg was referring to some of his mates from the old country....hardly. In my book, that sort of comment spells racism, but hey, I'm sure you'll have no trouble disagreeing with me...Of course that does not make you wrong, my man. nonononono.

cricky's fruittbatt,

you got my brainmatter cranked up now and im still processing your reply as its a very interesting concept you've thrown back at me.

my good self is always up for a bit of intelligent conversation and hold no biased towards no man.

yes i read the little manila quote, but we have little italy, little india, little china and many more so that dont bother me.

as far as the rest of the post goes im real sorry but im cosher with it.

cheers old mate,

ps ive backed you to the hilt on another one of your posts so you'll like that

cheers, Terry,

and we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one!

thanks for that fruittbatt as we cant agree on everything can we, as this would be a dead set boring old world with no thaivisa to contribute to.

its quite amusing how some contributers to the forum go and do there lolly over trivial difference's

off opinion.

cant really see the point in that, but i must admit, its hard sometimes to keep it under control

especially when touchy subjects come up like racism.

chock dee kup to you my sensible friend.

.

[terry57]

Another India lover here, next trip will be my thirteenth since 1965. I have a doctor in Delhi who prescribed an alternative to my hypertension drugs, I took enough home to last me one year but they ran out eventually.

I just didn't take anything for a couple of years but early this year we went to Burma for a short trip (via Mae Sai), I found out there are 'Indian' pharmacies in the larger towns so I managed to find the stuff I needed by showing the label around. You can get anything else you want also, cheaper even than India!

You can go to Burma on a 30 day pass, the only restriction is that you must exit through the same border post you enter. We had a great time...

hey niloc more info please,

i take pravacol for an inherited colesterol condition and have to take it for ever if i dont want to die from a frigging stroke that is.

its costing me a fortune as its a $100 per month in los.

you think i could get that in burma and save the rest of the money to buy more chang ?

Terry, I cannot tell you for sure but if your dope is a commonly prescribed medication it is probably available in Burma. ie from India. Try a Google search...

I recall going to pharmacies in India and there anything is available, you can buy things like Valium straight over the counter without any prescription.

My prescription cost me about $28.00 a month in Australia, about $12.00 in Thailand and about $4.50 in India and Burma. Take an empty pill box with you so the pharmacist can see what the active ingredient is and give you the same stuff. Probably a different name but as long as the active ingredient is there it will work!!

Best of luck... You will enjoy Myanmar.

Cambodia can be pretty good as well Tel. Last time I was working there I went into a pharmacy in Phnom Penh and they seemed to have the works, with English speaking pharmacists who knew their stuff. There is a new chain opening up over there, looks abit like 'Superdrug' back in Blighty. Unfortunately I won't be going back there for a few months or I'd offer to check.

wish i new about this before tour as ive been to all those places except burma.

i could of started my own pharmacy by now and the money id saved on medication could of went to shouting your good self a few beers.

cheers old mate.

[figaro]

Woman nabbed for bringing home "cheap" Bangkok medicines

CEBU: -- A 61-year-old Cebuana who arrived home Wednesday from a holiday in Bangkok was apprehended by Mactan-Cebu International Airport authorities who confiscated her luggage containing assorted medicines, including antibiotics and cosmetics creams.

The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) were making a re-inventory of the drugs on suspicion that the medicine socks were unregistered for distribution in the Philippines and possibly counterfeit.

Carolina Montesclaros, a resident of Talisay City, readily admitted ownership of the medicine.

She said she travels twice a year to Asian countries and the United States. This was the first time, she said, that she thought of bringing home medicines and cosmetic creams in Bangkok because she was attracted to its inexpensive prices. She said she spent P198,000 for the goods.

Agents from the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Bureau of Customs-Mactan held Montesclaros for questioning after seizing 40,800 tablets of assorted medicines.

Also confiscated from her were 20 bottles of Mycostatin oral drugs and 300 tubes of Nisoral (5mg) ointment along with 552 units of Mena facial cream.

Montesclaros said she usually travel and every time she comes home she buys some things for her personal use and things she could sell.

"This time, I bought medicines because I was attracted to the price. They're very cheap there. I know what the medicines are for. They are mostly third generation antibiotics and ointments," she said.

Montesclaros said she was surprised at being apprehended and was willing to pay any taxes due on the items.

"I don't know if they are illegal. As far as I know they are not," she said.

Montesclaros arrived in Cebu from Bangkok on board Cathay Pacific at 11:28 a.m.

Carlito Ermac, chief of the K-9 group of PDEA, said his office was tipped off by the NBI that Montesclaros and one of her companions were scheduled to arrive in Cebu allegedly carrying illegal drugs worth P6 million from Bangkok. (PNA)

-- PNA/Ceby News 2006-07-20

Quite a few of the medications available on pharmacies in Sukumvit are fake.

There is a pharmacy ; KS Pkarmacy, a few shops away from Robinsons on Sukumvit (very close

to Asia Books) from which a friend of mine bought some Penagra (the Indian form of Viagra) .

This was complete fake, as three of us tried it without any effects whatever.

We know that this was fake, because this friend then gave us some genuine Viagra (purchased via prescription, from outside Thailand) and all of us had four hour long boners.

The Guy at KS Pharmacy refused to take back the unused Penagra , because he knew that he had swindled my friend.

So be very careful of medications that you buy without prescriptions in Thailand

[Arkady]

There is a cheap generic Silagra which definitely works, made by the large Indian pharmaceutical co that is planning to manufacture generic Tamiflu. There is another Indian one called Kanagra that also works. I don't know about Penagra. It may be a fake Indian generic which seems to be scraping the barrel as prices are low but at least the sellers will not have problems with Pfizer's lawyers for distributing it. It may even not exist at all in India and be a totally fake brand or is just a substandard Indian drug. Anyway avoid. The real V is not that expensive and readily available without a prescription. Fake and substandard drugs are a real problem here. The Thais sell their expired medicines, probably including fakes and substandards, to Burma!

[astral]

Most Euro countries will watch for it. If you bring in large amounts of Viagra, Valium or steroids, you can sell them in the huge black market in western europe for 2-5 times the price you bought them for in pharmacy in Bangkok.

Buy in India and the mark up is 10X or more!!!!!!

I sometimes source antibiotics for a pharmacist friend, in a ME country.

He uses them to help the poorer members of the community.

Viagra and Cialis get sold at full price!!!

And there is a roaring trade.

[PeaceBlondie]

I suspect Kamagra works for some, and not for others. My buddy got all upset when that happened, but Kamagra works just like Viagra for me, even the stuff I bought at the railway station from the Israeli who was leaving Thailand. His Cyalis worked, too. My buddy (who's 26 years younger than me) couldn't get it up with Kamagra. And we were both taking it from the same batch.

In July we paid 4000 baht for 100 antibiotic pills, bought at govt. pharmacy. I take four per day. That's US$4.20 per day! I wonder what it costs back home.