When It Comes to Online Drug Purchases, The FDA Says ‘Let The Buyer Beware’
Shopping online has revolutionized the way we purchase products. While inexpensive and convenient might be just fine when it comes to purchasing a book or a vacuum cleaner, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that cheap and easy might not be the best criteria for purchasing drugs from online pharmacies.The online prescription drug market is huge: according to the FDA, 1 in 4 internet users have purchased prescription drugs online. Shockingly, 30 percent of those purchasers had no idea how to verify whether the online pharmacy they were purchasing from was legitimate. Even scarier: only 3 percent of online pharmacies meet state and federal laws.
Given the high cost of medications, it’s understandable why people are choosing to go the online route, but the FDA warns that buying deeply discounted medications online can be a case of penny wise and pound foolish.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg stated, “Buying medicines from rogue online pharmacies can be risky because they may sell fake, expired, contaminated, not approved by FDA, or otherwise unsafe products that are dangerous to patients.”
To help patients make wiser choices when it comes to online drug purchases, the FDA has launched a campaign called BeSafeRX, which is designed to educate patients on how to avoid these risks.
To learn more about the FDA’s BeSafeRx campaign, click here.
Tallahassee personal injury lawyer Eddie Farah applauds the FDA’s efforts to educate the public about the dangers of online drug purchases, and reminds you that if you have been harmed by a drug that has been sold to you from an online pharmacy, you can call the law firm of Farah & Farah to discuss your legal options at (800) 533-3555.
By Eddie Farah
