Makers and distributors of fake and poor quality drugs will face tougher punishments under a new judicial interpretation, according to China's top procuratorate.

The interpretation, which takes effect on Dec 1, relates to the drug safety articles in the revised Criminal Law, which was adopted in 2011, said Han Yaoyuan, deputy director of the research department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

"In recent years, the crimes of manufacturing and selling fake or substandard drugs, relying on modern technology and channels, have occurred repeatedly. These crimes have greatly harmed people's health and threatened social stability," Han said. "The Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate jointly worked out the interpretation in light of judicial practices in recent years to severely punish such crimes."

Judicial organs have intensified their efforts against drug-related crimes in the past few years, Han said.

From May to December 2011, procuratorates across China approved the arrests of 782 suspects related to producing or selling fake drugs. The number increased to 1,972 last year, according to the SPP.

The interpretation specifies the conditions under which harsher punishments can be given and increases punishments foremployees of medical institutes who are involved in producing or distributing fake or substandard drugs.

It also widens the definition of what constitutes producing fake or substandard drugs — for example, producing packages for such drugs with the intention of selling the drugs for profit.

Activities that cause greater harm, such as selling fake or ineffective drugs to seriously ill persons or pregnant women, or that are intended for infants, as well as the production of unauthorized anesthetics, blood products or vaccines, will be punished more severely under the interpretation.

In recent years, well-organized criminal gangs have appeared that cover the whole chain of drug production and distribution, Han said.

"Modern logistics using the Internet and express delivery have become important channels for the flow of fake drugs," Han said. "These have brought more challenges to law enforcement."

In September last year, four people in Henan province were sentenced to two and a half years to eight years in prison for producing and selling traditional Chinese medicine adulterated with chemicals, according to the SPP.

Yang Zhanqiang, from Mianchi, was accused of adding chemicals such as phenformin, which is used to treat diabetes, to capsules containing traditional Chinese medicine and sold them to their agents and diabetes patients in more than 20 provincial areas between 2010 and 2012 through the Internet and express delivery. The police found the certificate numbers printed on the medicine packages were fake.

"It is necessary to issue the judicial interpretation to severely punish crimes related to producing and selling fake drugs," said Wang Hongzhi, a medical adviser at Beijing-based advisory firm Allpku. "But intensified law enforcement is needed to reduce such crimes."

"It is easy for local authorities to enforce laws on individual criminals but very difficult for them to enforce laws on big enterprises suspected of producing or selling fake or substandard drugs," he said. "Although big drug producers are major tax contributors to the government in some areas, they should also be punished severely if they are found to be in violation of the law."