Pfizer Inc has teamed up with the  National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP)  to educate consumers about the hazardous effects of counterfeit medicines, and to instruct them on how to buy safe medicines online. In an NABP survey of 8000 plus websites selling medicines, 96% were found to be operating outside of the framework of pharmacy laws and standards. Added to the medical hazards of buying spurious medicines online from such sources are the dangers of identity theft and financial fraud when  consumer’s credit card-related data is revealed to the criminal elements who deal in  counterfeit medicines. In another investigation, Pfizer purchased its own Viagra product from 26 websites selling pharmaceuticals, and found that 81% were selling a counterfeit product. All the websites were illegal.

To help consumers shop safely online, the FDA recommends online pharmacies from where FDA approved medicines are available. These websites have a seal of authenticity – the Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) accreditation by NABP. A  list of such websites with VIPPS seals has  also been made available online. Apart from this, there are numbers that consumers who think they have purchased a counterfeit product can call.

There are five elements in the Pfizer – NABP educational programme on counterfeit medicines. A YouTube educational channel, the NABP website, a Viagra website, educational messages linked to search engines when they are used to look for information on  medicines like Viagra, and takeovers of counterfeit websites.

 

Source: SECURINGPHARMA