The State Food and Drug Administration has announced the establishment of a nationwide pharmaceutical supervision network to strengthen electronic oversight of drugs. Going forward, every medication will be assigned an “identification card,” with a regulatory code printed on its packaging that will verify its authenticity at each stage of the supply chain—from production to distribution. The implementation of this policy will, of course, rely heavily on inkjet printers.

　　This year on “3·15,” the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) publicly exposed 25 websites illegally selling pharmaceuticals for the first time, and on March 31 it released a second list of 20 such websites. The root cause of this phenomenon lies in the failure of many manufacturers to strictly comply with China’s regulations on pharmaceutical production management. According to these rules, all drug packaging must bear a unique code applied by an inkjet printer; any product lacking such standardized labeling is prohibited from being sold. In the near future, all pharmaceuticals will gradually be equipped with electronic regulatory codes via inkjet printers, bringing them under the national oversight network. Functionally, much like the anti-counterfeiting marks independently designed by individual pharmaceutical companies, these electronic codes enable authorities to crack down on counterfeit and substandard drugs, track the production, distribution, inventory, and movement of every single package, and allow consumers to verify product information through the code, thereby preventing the purchase of fake medicines. Moreover, as part of a nationwide unified barcode system, when problematic products are identified, the NMPA can swiftly trace their origins and initiate recalls, while also issuing timely alerts. Inkjet‑printed codes further help detect whether enterprises are operating beyond their authorized scope. Overall, this approach will strengthen the NMPA’s ability to oversee pharmaceuticals and ensure prompt responses to counterfeit or substandard products and drug‑related safety incidents. With each drug now bearing a unique identifier generated by the inkjet printer, websites engaged in illegal sales will face significant deterrence—after all, consumers can use the presence of such a code to distinguish genuine from fake medications.

　　With the help of inkjet printers in strengthening China’s pharmaceutical regulatory system, we can be confident that counterfeit and substandard drugs will soon be completely eradicated. As medicines directly affect public health and safety, consumers should carefully examine the printed codes on packaging; any product lacking a code or bearing an unclear mark should be purchased with extreme caution.