UNODC launches campaign against counterfeit goods

The United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched a new public awareness campaign against counterfeit goods that pose health and safety risks to the public.

The agency has produced an awareness-raising campaign to highlight the financial and social costs behind the trade in fake products and links to organised crime, including a short video and fact sheet on counterfeit products which it says generate some $250bn a year in criminal proceeds.



"With the counterfeit business spread across numerous countries and organised by criminal networks, there is an ever-growing need for action at both the local and international levels," said the UNODC.

It also calls on the public to take a more proactive stance on the issue by refusing to purchase fake good knowingly.

"While these purchases may save you money in the short term, the longer-term losses are far more costly," it notes.