Internet pharmacies

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (PhilFDA) is now closely monitoring websites which market all sorts of products including hormones, vaccines and other drugs which should only be bought and taken with a doctor’s prescription.

These Internet pharmacies, as PhilFDA director Kenneth Hartigan-Go calls them, are a serious threat to the public who are made to believe that these medicines, some of which are given by injections, can be safely taken even without a doctor’s recommendation. Most of these products are not even registered with the PhilFDA; they’re actually illegal. Some of the brands being advertised are duly registered, but the products actually being sold are fake.

“We have made an extremely bold statement through an unprecedented action versus Internet pharmacies selling illegal products in the Philippines. This is pharmacovigilance translation,” says Dr. Hartigan-Go.

Come out with disclaimers

Drugs for erectile dysfunction like Viagra and Cialis are being advertised like they’re ordinary vitamins that can be taken by any male. If taken together with some heart pills like nitrates, they can cause serious interactions that have landed many adventurous, unsupervised takers in the emergency room.

We don’t know what are the active ingredients of these drugs; many of them are probably even fake. Time and again the manufacturers of the genuine brands have come out with disclaimers stressing that they are not the source of these advertised products and warn the public of whatever adverse reactions they might experience from taking these.

Even hormones like growth hormones which are administered through injections are being blatantly advertised with indications that could lure the gullible consumer into believing that they’re magical potions from the proverbial fountain of eternal youth. I heard that many had been duped into shelling out tens of thousands of pesos to buy them, not realizing the dangers they were recklessly exposing themselves to.

We have a propensity for self-medication, frequently taking products simply because they were recommended by a neighbor, friend or relative. We are also easily swayed by testimonials of celebrities or other prominent personalities. Sometimes we think we can skip the visit to the doctor and save some cost on professional fees by simply self-medicating. However, at times, it would turn out more expensive in the long run if our medical condition gets  worse by taking the wrong medicine, or taking the right medicine but at the wrong dose, or taking them together with other medicines, with which they may have some serious interactions.

Self-medication

These Internet pharmacies are encouraging self-medication and the adventurous to try potent medicines even for unapproved indications. It’s good that marketing websites like Sulit.com.ph are cooperating with the PhilFDA in pulling out the advertisements of these medicines.

Unscrupulous entrepreneurs have also been served a fair warning to desist from selling medicinal products which have not been approved by the PhilFDA. Even if they are duly registered, they should not be advertised in consumer-oriented Internet websites and other forms of mass media.

The PhilFDA is showing more grit and determination in its pharmacovigilance program to make sure the public is adequately protected from medicinal products that can cause them harm. But the public must be equally vigilant and should not fully rely on government agencies to do all the monitoring and rounding up of scoundrels. With the limited resources and manpower of the PhilFDA, it’s difficult for the agency to know all necessary information relevant to consumer health protection. The public must help the agency by reporting to it any possible harm caused by any product that’s supposed to have been registered with the PhilFDA. They can call 857-1900 or e-mail [email protected].

The important lesson, too, is to maintain one’s trust in his/her family physician, and not to buy anything recommended by any sweet-talking salesman or advertised in any form of mass media without consulting his/her trusted physician.