Consumers looking for a way to get highly priced medications like Viagra are turning to online markets to get it. The problem is some of these locations promise low prices, fast and free shipping, and even no prescription offers, and they don’t provide the real thing. Even worse, these new products can be highly dangerous and made of unknown materials. Viagra is only one example. Others include beta blockers, medications for infections. Many of the top rated name brand drugs that tend to require prescriptions are available inexpensively online.
Most Are Fake Medications
According to the World Health Organization, about half of the illicit online pharmacies selling these products are not selling high quality medications. In most cases, these counterfeit medications are sold with the same brand names and descriptions as well. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in the U.S. released a report that indicates a sampling of 11,000 online-based sellers found that 96 percent of those locations did not meet the organization’s required patient safety standards and practices. They did not meet state or federal laws in the U.S. either. And, the organization went so far as to say that it does not recommend that any consumer purchase medications in this manner.
What Are The Risks?
While selling fake medications may seem harmless from a health standpoint, it is anything but. In fact, this industry, which according to the World Health Organization amounts to some $431 billion a year, could put patient lives on the line. Not only are patients not getting the all important medications they need, but they are also facing the risk of ingesting toxins. Some medications have been found to contain everything from paint to rat poison. These toxic chemicals can not only make health conditions worse, but also put an individual’s life at risk from a single ingestion.
These risks are likely to continue because no universal law system is in place to stop the practice of selling these products online. That leaves consumers at risk and often the only ones to make wise decisions about where they purchase medications.