Search Terms: internet w/5 prescription
Document 122 of 282.
Copyright 2000 The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch
January
21,2000, Friday
SECTION:
EDITORIAL & COMMENT, Pg. 12A
LENGTH:
395 words
HEADLINE:
DRUGS ON WEB GOVERNMENT CAN'T STOP FLOOD OF CHEAP PILLS
BODY:
If you could buy prescription drugs cheaply and without a prescription, would that be a good deal? Although millions of pills have been imported by consumers from overseas drugstores, the Food and Drug Administration urges Americans not to buy from foreign Web sites, and often that such purchases are illegal.
Viagra, the anti-impotency pill, has been hugely popular on the Web. Pfizer, the drug's maker, has successfully pressured state pharmacy boards to shut down domestic Web sites that sell the drugs without requiring prescriptions. But Pfizer is all but powerless against foreign sellers. What's wrong with consumers saving money? Several things.
Drugs from abroad may not be manufactured to standards as strict as those in this country. Bypassing a doctor means there is no check on whether a particular drug would interact dangerously with another medication. Also, certain drugs should not be taken if the consumer has a particular ailment.
Still, a growing number of Americans are buying drugs from foreign Web sites, mainly because they are cheaper.
The cost of prescription drugs has become a worrisome issue. With presidential candidates beating up on drug companies for their high prices, these same politicians are unwilling to rail against cheaper drugs coming in from foreign countries.
This business is carried on brazenly. Operators of a Web site called Drug Quest says they can, for a fee, help consumers buy just about any drug without a prescription from Mexico, the Caribbean or other places in the world. The site particularly pushes medications for hair loss and erectile dysfunction, which many men do not want to talk to their doctors about.
The U.S. Customs Service seized 9,725 packages of drugs last year, and that is surely the tip of the iceberg. Because drug shipments are not marked as such, confiscating them is difficult. Drugs that are confiscated are those that are not approved for use in this country or fall below federal standards for quality and purity.
A supervisory customs inspector at Kennedy International Airport in New York said:
"You probably can buy anything you want over the Internet and have it shipped to your home. We've found a big increase in drugs.''
Anyone contemplating such purchases should give thought to how he may be endangering his health in order to save a few dollars.
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January 22, 2000
Document 122 of 282.
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