On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to use extreme care when purchasing any products over the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure the H1N1 influenza virus. The warning comes after the FDA recently purchased and analyzed several products online, which may pose risks to patients.
This important alert says consumers may not know exactly what they are getting when buying such antiviral products on the Internet from an unfamiliar company.
Patients who buy prescription drugs from Web sites operating outside the law are at increased risk of suffering life-threatening adverse events, such as side effects from inappropriately using prescription medications, dangerous drug interactions, contaminated drugs, and impure or unknown ingredients found in unapproved drugs. This may particularly be the case in the event of a public health emergency, such as an influenza outbreak, where approved treatment options would be in high demand and expensive, and where drug shortages could occur.
Drugs that are in high demand are vulnerable to counterfeiting and diversion because buyers may be desperate to stock the product, and criminals capitalize on the situation.
Last year NRF released a similar alert that well-known products found in health and personal care aisles nationwide are being targeted by organized retail crime rings. These groups often steal thousands of dollars of merchandise at a time with the intent to resell it for profit. While thieves look to resell stolen products online, consumers are left with no way to ensure they are getting the quality they paid for.
From vaccines to aspirin, the bottom line is the same: consumers should only purchase medication and infant formula from sources they know and trust.