A crackdown by the US government on illegal sales of prescription drugs over the Inter net has been strongly supported by the Irish Medicines Board, which has called for a similar EU-wide initiative to counter problems with online medicine purchases throughout Europe.
The Clinton administration wants to allow the US Food and Drug Administration to verify the quality of hundreds of online companies which allow consumers to process prescriptions without going to a pharmacy. In many cases they process global transactions. The companies operate globally.
A spokesman for the Irish Medicines Board, which licenses drugs and advises the Minister for Health on their regulation, welcomed the US move but warned it was a global problem.
"It's an issue of major concern to the IMB. At a minimum, we are looking for an EU approach," he said.
While the number of illegal sales here was hard to quantify, there were indications it was a growing problem, he said. But the Internet, being what it is, meant any isolated "Irish approach" to the problem would not be sufficient.
Mail-order purchases of prescription drugs are prohibited under Irish legislation, which would include buying via the Internet, the spokesman said.
If approved by Congress, the US administration's proposal would create federal fines of up to $500,000 for websites that sell drugs without first obtaining a valid prescription from the online buyer, and it would expand the FDA's powers to investigate sites that are suspected of operating fraudulently.
It is an attempt to regulate a new industry that is allowing consumers to obtain medicine in a convenient manner but also has the potential to harm those who order drugs through unscrupulous operators. FDA commissioner Ms Jane Henney told the Washington Post this week nothwithstanding illegal on-line sales that the recent proliferation of companies selling drugs via the Internet had many advantages for patients, especially those who were disabled, lived far from traditional pharmacies or were too sick to go out, but they were "trying to sort out the bad actors".
Though new websites selling medicines are coming into existence on a weekly basis, the US authorities do not know how many consumers are using them. Nor is it clear how many have received drugs that were contaminated or not approved.
Anecdotally, however, she said there were indications that the largely unregulated world of online drug sales could sometimes prove dangerous, as consumers had little opportunity to discern reputable companies from fly-by-night ones.
The FDA is investigating hundreds of reports of websites that write prescriptions and dispense drugs solely based on a written questionnaire that consumers fill out.
Similar arrangements are known to operate in some parts of Europe. The patient does not necessarily have to visit a doctor in person to make sure they need the drug they want and can use it safely.
