In the context of the fight against illegal and falsified medicines, the illegal adulteration of dietary supplements and other products,
; like cosmetics, medical devices, and food products, with pharmaceutical ingredients is an underestimated phenomenon and
; is generally indicated as medicines in disguise. However, from the point of view of protecting public health, medicines in disguise
; represent a serious risk for consumers’ health due to adverse effects and possible interactions with therapies already used by a
; patient to treat a (chronic) medical condition, and who is unaware he is taking a medicine. With an overview of a series of cases
; reported in the literature, this paper intends to raise awareness about this issue, emphasizing the extent of products that may be
; concerned and the range of adulterants that may be encountered. Equally important are the analytical techniques, suitable for
; the detection and identification of adulterants and the analysis of medicines in disguise. Laboratories have a whole plethora of
; techniques at their disposal; however, there is also a need for simple portable screening techniques to support customs officers
; and inspectors in their choice of identifying products as suspicious and their decision to seize.