The FDA recently issued a warning about the emerging threat of phony online pharmacies.
Central to their warning was a study compiled by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The study investigated more than 10,000 online pharmacies and found that 97% violated laws and/or safety standards.
With such a vast majority of online pharmacies operating illegally, consumers are at risk of purchasing products that are expired, fake, or not approved by the FDA. Most of these pharmacies mix genuine products with counterfeits to make a product that looks almost identical to the real thing. Most people don’t even know they’ve taken a bad product until their condition worsens.
This clearly poses a threat and has prompted the FDA to educate consumers as well as shut down the illegal pharmacies. Unfortunately, as the FDA shuts down these illegal pharmacies, more continue to crop up to fill the void.
In an effort to educate consumers, the FDA has offered certain characteristics of fake pharmacies to help people spot and avoid them. Avoid any online pharmacy that:
- Let’s you buy drugs without a prescription
- Offers discounts that seem too good to be true
- Sends spam offering cheap drugs
- Is not located in or licensed in the US
Related Sources:
medscape.com