FDA warns of risks of online pharmacies
by Linda Johnson, AP
Updated 9/28/2012 6:08 PM
The
Food and Drug Administration is warning U.S. consumers that the vast
majority of Internet pharmacies are fraudulent and likely are selling
counterfeit drugs that could harm them.
The
agency on Friday launched a national campaign, called BeSafeRx, to alert
the public to the danger, amid evidence that more people are shopping
for their medicine online, looking for savings and convenience.
Instead,
they're likely to get fake drugs that are contaminated, are past their
expiration date or contain no active ingredient, the wrong amount of
active ingredient or even toxic substances such as arsenic and rat
poison. They could sicken or kill people, cause them to develop a
resistance to their real medicine, cause new side effects or trigger
harmful interactions with other medications being taken.
"Our
goal is to increase awareness," FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg
told the Associated Press, "not to scare people away from online
pharmacies. We want them to use appropriate pharmacies."
That
means pharmacies that are located in the U.S., are licensed by the
pharmacy board in the patient's state and have a licensed pharmacist
available to answer questions. In addition, the pharmacy must require a
valid doctor's prescription for the medicine. Online drugstores that
claim none is needed, or that the site's doctor can write a prescription
after the customer answers some questions, are breaking the law.
Research
by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which represents the
state pharmacy boards, found that of thousands of online pharmacies it
reviewed, only about 3% follow state and federal laws. In fact, the
group's website lists only a few dozen Internet pharmacies that it has
verified are legitimate and following the rules.
Most
consumers don't know that. An Internet survey, conducted by the FDA in
May, questioned 6,090 adults. It found that nearly one in four Internet
shoppers has bought prescription drugs online, and nearly three in 10
said they weren't confident they could do so safely.
The campaign comes after some high-profile cases of counterfeit drugs reaching American patients earlier this year.
In
February and again in April, the FDA warned doctors and cancer clinics
around the country that it had determined they had bought fake Avastin, a
pricey injectable cancer medicine, from a "gray market" wholesaler. The
fake Avastin vials originated in Asia or Eastern Europe and were
transferred through a network of shady wholesalers before being sold to
clinics by a wholesaler claiming to be in Montana.
In
another case, the FDA issued a warning in May after learning consumers
shopping on the Internet had bought fake versions of generic Adderall, a
popular medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
No
deaths or serious injuries have been linked to those fakes, but Hamburg
notes that when drugs don't help patients get better, doctors usually
blame the disease or assume a different medicine is needed. That means
most fakes aren't detected.
So the FDA, which
has put increasing focus on the counterfeiting problem, on Friday
launched a website, www.FDA.gov/BeSafeRx , that shows consumers how to
determine if an online pharmacy is safe.
"Buying prescription medicine from a fake online pharmacy can be dangerous, or even deadly," the site warns.
It
includes tips on how to spot illegal pharmacies, links to state
databases of licensed pharmacies and explanations of all the dangers of
rogue pharmacies. Besides likely getting fake drugs, that includes the
risk that they will infect your computer with viruses, sell your
personal and financial information to other rogue websites and Internet
scammers, or charge you for products you never ordered or received.
Many
rogue pharmacies claim to be in Canada -- because Americans know
medicines are cheaper there and assume that's why they're getting a
deal. Many fraudulent sites even put the word Canada in their name, or
display the Canadian flag prominently on the site. Their web storefronts
are slick and look professional. And they all offer prices that are
unbelievably low.
"If the low prices seem too good to be true, they probably are,' Hamburg said.
The
FDA is collaborating with several other federal agencies and
departments and even Interpol in the campaign, Hamburg said, and it has
asked medical and pharmaceutical industry groups to join in.
It's
also reaching out to doctors, pharmacists and medical facilities to
spread the word. They'll get access to materials they can download, from
patient fact sheets and discussion guides to sample blog items and web
banners for a practice's own website. There's also a list of tips to
help doctors determine if a patient may be buying medicine online.
The agency will do a follow-up survey to see if the campaign's message is reaching the public.
"What's
truly important to us is that consumers know how to look for an online
pharmacy that's legitimate and safe," Hamburg said.
