Hope we don't end up suffering because of overzealous politicians.
Ron Reiner (49/2)
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GENEVA (Reuter) - The World Health Organization's general
assembly, in a resolution passed Monday, urged a global fight
against uncontrolled and dangerous sales of drugs in the
borderless world of the Internet.
The U.N. health agency said in a statement that it feared
the booming global computer system could become a medium for the
promotion and sales of unauthorized drugs that could lead to
consumer misuse, abuse and public health risks.
In a resolution adopted by consensus, it called on member
states to boost cooperation among law enforcers, drug companies
and the business community to control online sales of medicine.
WHO's chief of drug safety, Martign ten Ham, said his agency
had found at least three or four firms selling prescription
drugs on the Internet without detailed information.
Drugs offered online included a severe acne drug which could
cause birth defects in pregnant women, toxic drugs used in
cancer therapy and even morning-after pills.
``Apart from the fact that these drugs should not be
available just for anyone who wants them, they're also not
accompanied by proper information on their use,'' said ten Ham,
a doctor from the Netherlands.
``These people selling drugs on the Internet, we never know
where they are. We have no assurance on the quality of these
products. I've been told there are possibilities to obtain even
narcotic drugs on Internet.''
He said Internet drug sales and promotion also opened the
way to trade in convincing but counterfeit copies of
life-or-death medicines such as insulin and antibiotics.
The doctor said regulations on sales, prescriptions and
promotion of drugs by mail and by pharmacists differed from one
country to another and were impossible to enforce online.
He said it was difficult to assess the scale of the problem
because it was relatiovely new. But he added: ``It's like a fire
growing fast. There's no real control. Anyone can sell drugs on
the Internet. We want regulators to take up the matter.''
Nearly 200 million people are expected to be connected in
the next few years to the Internet, the worldwide network of
computers linked across telephone lines.
