The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine has called on the public and pharmacists to get involved in the fight against counterfeit and substandard medicines, reads a statement posted on the council's Web site on Friday.

"If you have a reasonable doubt about the purchase of medicines, be sure to refer to the State Service of Ukraine for Medical Products or law enforcement agencies in order for there to be inspections and examinations," NSDC Secretary Andriy Kliuyev said in a statement for journalists.

He noted that criminal and administrative responsibility had been tightened for the production, purchase, transportation, distribution or possession of counterfeit medicines and said that preparations were now underway to change the system of control over the quality of medicines and their access to the Ukrainian market on the basis of European regulations and standards.

Kliuyev said that in June 2012, the Verkhovna Rada ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health, which envisages the introduction of criminal responsibility for the production and distribution of counterfeit medicines.