Primum non nocere
By Adam Fein on May 20, 2008 – 10:24 am
In Agendas: hidden and not-so, Allen Coukell asks: “If you were an uninsured patient unable to afford medication in the
If those are the only choices, you should go without. Primum non nocere. (“First, do no harm.”)
Judging by his biography, Allen appears to be a Canadian pharmacist by training. So he should know that many so-called Canadian pharmacies are not actually in Canada, many drugs sold by “online pharmacies” are counterfeit, and we really don’t know where Canadian pharmacies are going to source enough products to meet
Still not convinced of the danger? Read this Drug Channels post about a father-son duo who supplied counterfeits to online spammers. How about the guilty plea of pharmaceutical distributor that sold counterfeit drugs to U.S. pharmacies? Or this 2005 report from Giuliani Partners about the loopholes that could endanger us?
I could go on and on.
People will buy drugs online from unscrupulous sellers to “save money.” Organized criminals, drug traffickers and terrorists could (and probably do) exploit gaps in our drug distribution system. I wish it were only fear-mongering, but unfortunately we are talking about legitimate issues.
Posted in Counterfeit Drugs, Diversion |
7 Comments to “Primum non nocere”
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May 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am
And what does it happen if you really buy a product in a real Canadian Pharmacy? I understand your point of view and I am agree with it, but like a pharmaceutic in Spain that I am, it seems like you are saying that on ly good drugs are available in US.
May 20th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Ovidiov,
No, I’m not saying that a Canadian citizen buying from a local Canadian pharmacy is in danger. I’m just pointing out that telling US citizens to order online from an allegedly “canadian” pharmacy is very risky.
Adam
P.S. Thanks for commenting. Anyone interested in ovidiov’s blog can translate it using google: http://www.google.com/translate_t
May 20th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
When deciding whether to recommend reimportation, the Minnesota Seniors Federation and several state governments visited Canadian internet pharmacies to assess standards.
The New York Times reported on it, quoting Pete Wyckoff, of the MN Senior Federation:
“It’s not like the drug is contaminated or illicit or counterfeit,” Mr. Wyckoff said. “Nothing like that came up.”
http://tiny.cc/xT0iY
I’ve been to some of those pharmacies too. They were Canadian right down to the coffee from Tim Horton’s.
May 20th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Totally agree with you!!!Thank you
May 20th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Allen,
I’m not personally familiar with the MN program. And I’m sure there are many honest, hardworking pharmacists in Canada.
But I still find it incredible that a health professional would encourage personal importation given the risks, especially without any confirmation that a pharmacy is legit.
If you want to see what’s really happening with online pharmacies, visit the pain pill addicts at http://www.drugbuyers.com. They’ll tell you how to buy anything online with no questions asked.
“Caveat Emptor” is not good public policy, IMHO.
Adam
May 27th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
The website drugbuyers.com (mentioned above) is registered to a Panamanian company; several internet posts suggest it is a credit card scam. I’m sure there are lots of such sites around, but what do they prove?
Americans are paying for more for prescription drugs than consumers in other OECD countries. The same drugs, often from the same production lines, can be reimported at relatively lower cost from countries with good supply chain systems in place.
That’s why a bill to authorize such reimportation had broad bipartisan support in Congress.
Are there fly-by-nighters out there? You bet. But what evidence is there to suggest that the problem in Manitoba is bigger than that in Missouri?
May 30th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Allen:
I meant to link to the online forums on that site:
http://www.drugbuyers.com/freeboard/ubbthreads.php/ubb/cfrm
Adam