DOH and FDA Update:
Be careful with buying drugs online. Beware of false
claims and advertisements. Avoid self-medication and consult your
doctor first. - FDA Director General Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-go
Internet Pharmacies
By Dr. Rafael Castillo (Phil. Daily Inquirer, December 14, 2013)
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
info@fda.gov.ph.
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.
KNOW YOUR CORE GIFT AND GIVE IT TO THE WORLD
1 month ago
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