Counterfeit drugs may have which characteristics?

• A. They are always counterfeit and unsafe in every case
• B. They may contain no active ingredient, the wrong active ingredient, or incorrect amounts
• C. They are always clearly labeled as counterfeit
• D. They are always easy to detect by price alone

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that counterfeit medicines can differ from what they claim to be not just in appearance but in their actual content. They may contain no active ingredient at all, the wrong active ingredient, or the active ingredient in the wrong amount. This mismatch directly explains why such products are dangerous: they can fail to treat the condition, cause unexpected toxicity, or trigger adverse reactions because the dose isn’t what it should be. Because counterfeits can be made to look like legitimate drugs and can be priced similarly to real products, you can’t rely on packaging or price to judge quality. The safest takeaway is that the risk of counterfeit medicines lies in their potentially incorrect content, which is precisely what makes the option describing no active ingredient, wrong active ingredient, or incorrect amounts the best answer.