Thousands buy medicines online despite warnings
The findings from the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) yesterday found that 72pc who are already on a branded drug would take the generic equivalent. Library image
MORE than 320,000 people here would consider buying medicine over the internet and just under 65,000 have already done so, despite medical warnings.
The trend of purchasing drugs online exists in spite of one-third of people being aware it is illegal, and two-thirds having safety concerns.
The findings -- from medical watchdog the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) -- show that one-in-three internet surfers also uses the web to self-diagnose.
Among the most common drugs which people buy online or via mail order are impotence medicines like Viagra.
Slimming products and nutritional supplements are also popular purchases.
But IMB chief executive Pat O'Mahony warned that 75pc of such drugs seized by the watchdog in 2008 were counterfeit, with no active ingredients in some cases.
"We have huge concerns about the safety, quality and efficacy of drugs bought online or by mail order and the likelihood is that they are counterfeit," he said.
The survey, meanwhile, found that 12pc of people had no worries regarding the safety of medicine bought over the internet and 20pc had never even thought about it.
The findings also revealed that as many as 644,000 of the population are "averse" to medical product information, saying they never or only rarely read the details which accompany new prescription drugs.
Information
They equally rarely read product information on over-the-counter drugs and are slow to seek professional advice on such medication.
As many as 178,000 adults -- the majority of which are men aged under 24 and from lower socio-economic groups -- admit to never reading information or seeking advice.
"We would certainly recommend that everyone read product information -- although we recognise that there may be problems with literacy skills," said Mr O'Mahony. He added that the watchdog was also "consoled" by some of the information and that half of those surveyed always looked for advice from a healthcare professional -- typically a pharmacist -- before taking over-the-counter medication for the first time.
Patients said the most trusted sources of medical advice remained their GPs (68pc) and pharmacists (25pc), with many of those who do not read the information on their prescription medicine saying they had been advised of what to do by their GP or pharmacist.
But overall, the internet plays an increasingly important role among the public, with a quarter of respondents saying they use it as a source of information on medicine -- and a full six in 10 rating the internet positively in terms of finding information on different medicinal products.
Mr O'Mahony said the IMB had been involved in the closure of several sites selling medicines and that these can be notoriously difficult to track down, claiming to be operating from one country while located in another.
- Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent
Irish Independent
