The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December started a consumer-advice Web site intended to help Americans who buy prescription drugs and other medical products online distinguish between legitimate Internet pharmacies and dangerous quacks.
The FDA’s "Shop Smart" service provides instructions for consumers to report suspicious Internet sites and also to notify the FDA quickly if they suffer an injury or serious side effect from a product bought online, the Associated Press reported Dec. 21.
Reports to the FDA, made anonymously, will lead to investigations of problem online drugstores and warnings to the public, if necessary. An FDA pharmacist told the AP that the agency planned to be "much more aggressive" in policing Internet medicine.
Dr. Jane Henney, FDA commissioner, told the AP that the Internet "has opened up many new options for consumers to purchase products more conveniently." She added, however, that "the Internet has also provided unscrupulous individuals with immense new opportunities" to cause harm.
In recent months, the FDA has found inaccurate at-home AIDS tests sold over the Internet and warned consumers about false claims that shark cartilage cures cancer.
The AP noted that states also are starting to shut down online pharmacies that sell drugs illegally. In December, for example, Michigan ordered 10 sites to quit selling drugs or face legal action.
The FDA’s consumer-advice Web site can be reached at "http://www.fda.gov".
