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Increasingly, consumers are using the Internet to purchase medical products. Due to the ease with which a Website can be created, a site may appear to be a legitimate pharmacy when in fact both the seller and the product sold are illegitimate. Consumers need to know the risks, and how they can protect themselves, when buying prescription drugs and medical products on the Internet.

"The development of the Internet has opened up many new options for consumers to purchase products more conveniently," said Dr. Jane Henney, Commissioner of Food and Drugs. "However, the Internet has also provided unscrupulous individuals with immense new opportunities to promote and sell prescription drugs unlawfully to unsuspecting patients." Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA has the legal authority to regulate the safety, effectiveness, manufacturing, labeling, and advertising of prescription drugs.

By visiting FDA's Website at www.fda.gov and clicking on the "Buying Medical Products Online?" banner, consumers can now obtain information on how to protect themselves from dangerous online practices involving the sale of FDA-regulated products; learn about FDA's enforcement efforts; find out how to spot health fraud; and get a list of answers to the most commonly asked questions about Internet drug sales.

Consumers who suspect that a Website is illegally selling human or animal drugs, medical devices, biological products, foods, dietary supplements or cosmetics over the Web can also fill out an electronic complaint form provided at this site, and email it directly to FDA.

Source: HHS NEWS, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. FDA Press Release, December 20, 1999.