Internet Pharmacies - Not Worth the Safety Risk
Internet Pharmacies: Not Worth the Safety Risk
Washington, Jul 1 -
By U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas)
Recent news reports have mischaracterized the results of a government report on Internet pharmacies, leading many readers to believe that buying drugs online is much safer than in reality.
In fact, the report - released by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress - contains disturbing information about the growing amount of medicine purchased over the Internet, and the associated risk to consumers.
It's important to clarify these findings and the safety concerns they present. Some of the highlights of the June 17 report, entitled Internet Pharmacies: Some Pose Safety Risks for Consumers, include:
Significant problems were found with the handling and authenticity of drugs shipped. Some lacked the necessary refrigeration, or arrived in damaged or unconventional packaging. One shipment that was supposed to contain the pain medicine OxyContin was received in a CD case wrapped in brown paper, devoid of warning labels or instructions. Another was shipped inside a sealed aluminum can enclosed in a box labeled "Gold Dye and Stain Remover Wax."
Two-thirds of the drugs the GAO attempted to buy were easily purchased without a prescription. Some web sites required only the completion of an online questionnaire, even for controlled substances such as narcotics.
Four of the 68 samples of drugs purchased over the Internet were entirely counterfeit. Orders for Accutane, OxyContin and Viagra from foreign countries either had lesser amounts of the active ingredients or completely different chemical compositions than the real form of the drugs, putting patients at serious risk.
Several Internet pharmacies engaged in fraudulent business practices, such as not delivering orders at all or using invalid return addresses. Fourteen of the 68 web sites were under investigation by authorities either in the United States, Canada or other countries.
Not one of the foreign pharmacies outside of Canada provided labels with instructions on appropriate use of the prescription, as U.S. regulations require. Few included important warning information on drug interactions or side effects. And ostensibly Canadian web sites aren't guaranteed, either: The Washington Policy Center recently noted that the drugs they sell to Americans can actually be from Iran, Argentina, South Africa or Brazil. In addition, the FDA has a commission investigating imported drugs from Canada.
While the Internet has helped to connect society in unprecedented ways, and led to the growth of a genuine global marketplace, it has significant limitations - particularly a vulnerability to fraud and abuse.
In few areas is it more critical to recognize and guard against these weaknesses than in pharmaceuticals. The GAO acknowledged as much, concluding its report by stating, "It is notable that we identified these numerous problems despite the relatively small number of drugs we purchased." These are not isolated incidents.
Lives are literally on the line. Take the tragic story of Ryan Haight, a 16-year-old honor roll student in La Mesa, California who died from a mixture of hydrocodone, morphine, Valium and Oxazepam obtained from Internet pharmacies. The experience of University of San Francisco professor Rick Roberts, diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, provides another cautionary tale. Several months after starting treatment with a new drug, he began to notice a stinging sensation at the injection site. After months of intensive lab work, it was discovered that he had received two different types of counterfeit medicine: one was 1/16 of the strength of the growth hormone that he was supposed to be taking, and had been contaminated; the other was a hormone produced by pregnant women.
As a result of research and development of new pharmaceutical products, we have made tremendous strides in treating conditions that previously offered patients little or no hope. We cannot compromise this progress by allowing potentially unsafe products to enter our drug supply.
The Medicare Modernization Act of 2004 is beginning to provide relief to seniors who are struggling to purchase affordable drugs. Discount cards are available and provide $600 in transitional assistance for low-income beneficiaries. The full, integrated drug benefit will become available in 2006. These efforts will reduce the costs of prescription drugs without creating new risks for consumers. As tempting as the low prices of Internet pharmacies are, the risks are far higher, and not worth taking.
The full GAO report is available at www.gao.gov. Enter report # GAO-04-888T.