September 29, 2012 in Health, Nation/World Linda A. Johnson Associated Press 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 harmthem. 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 andconvenience. Instead, theyre 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 beingtaken. 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 appropriatepharmacies. That means pharmacies that are located in the U.S., are licensed by the pharmacy board in the patients state and have a licensed pharmacist available to answer questions. In addition, the pharmacy must require a valid doctors … Continue reading →

FDA has new consumer website about ordering drugs on line. At the University of Maryland, Baltimore, (UMB) we have a number of seasoned experts on the topic of on-line pharmacies, risks and benefits. Here is the FDAs BeSafeRx site: http://tinyurl.com/c45rotx Consumers are just rolling the dice when going to an Internet pharmacy that is not well known, says Frank Palumbo, PhD, JD, executive director of the Center on Drugs and Public Policy, and professor in the UMB School of Pharmacy http://www.pharmacy.umaryland.edu/ . He says some on-line pharmacies are safe and reliable as long as they are certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Look for the NABP. Another tip is to track the site to its origin to see if it is a U.S. pharmacy; not a guarantee that it is safe, but another clue. Many fraudulent on-line pharmacies look perfectly legit. They could be bring in drugs from offshore then selling in this country. There are many ways to fool the consumer, Palumbo says. They could be counterfeit drugs. Maybe they are not drugs at all. The CDPP http://www.pharmacy.umaryland.edu/centers/cdpp/index.html at the School of Pharmacy works closely with UMBs Francis King Carey School of Law. Palumbo teaching the … Continue reading →

"Our goal is to increase awareness," FDA Commissioner 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 United States, 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 percent follow state and federal laws. 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 25 percent of Internet shoppers have bought prescription drugs online, and nearly 30 percent said they weren't confident they could do so safely. The campaign comes after some high-profile … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →