Online Pharmacies Internet pharmacies are convenient, and the drugs they offer are less expensive, but they may not be safe. For many of us, the corner drugstore has become a thing of the past. The old-fashioned corner pharmacy did not only provide prescription and over-the-counter drugs, the pharmacist also offered advice on how to treat many common illnesses. However, the corner drugstore fell victim to the public's desire for lower costs and more convenient shopping, as provided by large chain pharmacies. For many people, Internet pharmacies are the next step in this evolutionary process. Buying drugs from an online pharmacy is convenient and, in many cases, less expensive than buying drugs from a large chain pharmacy. So, what's the problem? Simply put, you don't know whom you are dealing with. Here's why this is important: - Pharmacies in the United States must operate under a set of laws and regulations that are very similar across the entire country. These laws and regulations are to protect the public from counterfeit or fake drugs and to make sure that pharmacists are doing all of the things they are supposed to.
- Pharmacists must make sure that the prescription drugs they are giving you are the right drugs at the right dose. They also need to ensure these drugs won't interact with any of the other drugs that you are taking.
Online pharmacies may or may not be playing by the same rules. It depends on where they are and whether they are "certified" or not. When you buy drugs from an online pharmacy, unless you do it wisely, you are putting both your money and your health at risk. A previous U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protections inspection of packages shipped from outside the United States showed just how dangerous online pharmacies can be: The two agencies opened packages shipped from Canada and elsewhere that appeared to contain drugs. The agents looked at about 1,000 packages opened at one of six different mail-handling sites in the United States. About 800 of the packages were shipped from Canada. What they found was distressing: unlabeled or badly labeled drug containers, controlled substances obtained without a prescription, foreign versions of FDA-approved drugs, outdated and recalled drugs, high-risk drugs that require strict prescriber and patient precautions and unapproved drugs. Back to top
How You Can Protect Yourself The best thing you can do to protect yourself from losing your money, or even worse, is to look for a VIPPS (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites) label on the Web site. 
This label means that the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has certified the online pharmacy. You can be certain that the online pharmacies displaying the label meet all of the laws and regulations that were designed to protect you, your money and your family. To learn more about this program or to locate a VIPPS pharmacy, go to the NABP Web site and select "VIPPS," or call 847-698-6227. Remember, when buying drugs online, don't take any unnecessary risks. Specifically, avoid: - Online pharmacies that advertise prescription drugs without a prescription (for example, pain medications or drugs such as Viagra)
- Any foreign pharmacy (including pharmacies in Mexico and Canada), unless there is a VIPPS label on the site
Back to top
Last updated May 17, 2006
| 
