A Study Of The Purchase And Consumption Of Counterfeit Drugs In Ghana: The Case Of Marketing Students In Sunyani Polytechnic?

The aim of the paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge in the area of drugs production and marketing by examining respondent’s attitude towards counterfeit drugs and the factors influencing the purchase of counterfeit drugs by consumers. The research design is quantitative cross sectional survey using sample of 198 students of the marketing department selected through convenience sampling method. Primary data was collected using self-designed questionnaire and administered during lecture periods. Data was analysed using frequencies, percentages and One-Way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and presented in Tables. Few respondents purchase counterfeit drugs but are suspicious of the quality of drugs purchased. Respondents have negative attitude towards counterfeit drugs. Price and the look of pharmacy are used to evaluate the quality of drugs. Factors such as lack of information on quality of drugs, non-availability of quality drugs, ignorance of health implication and poverty influence the purchasing behaviour. Demographic variables such as gender, age, family income levels, religion significantly influence variations in responses provided by respondents. Manufacturers and marketer of drugs should incorporate these findings into their strategies in selling drug. Future study should increase the sample size in a causal study.