'Web pharmacies could ruin health'
Updated on 20 August 2007
Unregulated online pharmacies could be putting the health of people who buy drugs over the internet at risk, new research suggests.
A report found a boom in the number of internet pharmacies, many of which operate without proper credentials and offer "questionable" drugs.
Internet fraud advisers MarkMonitor looked at 3,160 online pharmacies and found that only four were accredited as Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) - an industry credential which assures customers of a site's legitimacy.
10% of the sites studied said no prescription was necessary to buy drugs.
More than a third had an average of 32,000 visitors each day. In addition, more than half did not secure financial information - putting customers at risk of identity fraud.
The research was based on tracking sales of six popular drugs; including two anti-cholesterol medications, one anti-psychotic, one sleep aid, one anti-anxiety and one lifestyle drug.
Charlie Abrahams, MarkMonitor's vice-president in Europe, said sales of these drugs could be worth about £2 billion a year.
But as many of the sites offered prescription drugs for as little as one-fifth of the the normal price, many were likely to be fake drugs, or out of date, he said, adding: "We were very surprised at the scale of this, very few are accredited.
"It is difficult to regulate something like the internet."
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