United Kingdom, Dec 7 - Senior EU policy makers are becoming increasingly concerned as further evidence suggests the region is awash with counterfeit medicines .

The illegal drugs frequently contain too much, too little or no active ingredient at all, or they may contain toxic substances, posing a risk to the lives of EU patients.

Counterfeit medicines pose a serious threat to EU citizens says the commission (Photo: www.freeimages.co.uk) On Monday (7 December), EU industry commissioner Gunter Verheugen said the extent of the problem is highly alarming.

"The number of counterfeit medicines arriving in Europe …is constantly growing. The European Commission is extremely worried," he told the German newspaper Die Welt.

Read more here .