The United States is one of the safest places in the world to buy medication. Still, counterfeit drugs can slip through the safeguards put in place by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As a result, it’s possible for consumers to purchase fraudulent products at online and bricks-and-mortar pharmacies.

Danger in a Bottle
Counterfeit drugs are dangerous because they may be:

• Made with harmful ingredients in unsanitary environments
• No good for treating your illness
• Filled with too much or too little of key ingredients
• Labeled, stored, or shipped improperly
• Expired

Online Deception
It’s possible to buy legitimate medications online safely from state-licensed pharmacies. But it can be hard to tell legal online pharmacies from those that are illegal and potentially dangerous.

Stick with online vendors that display the seal of Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS). Visit http://vipps.nabp.net to verify their credentials. And watch for these indications that an online provider could be selling unsafe drugs:

• It does not require a doctor’s prescription.
• The prices are substantially lower than those of standard providers.
• No telephone contact is provided.

Know Your Medication
These steps can help you protect yourself from counterfeit medicines whether you’re purchasing drugs online, via mail order, or from another source:

• Obtain a sample. Get your hands on a known example of the real medicine from your doctor, pharmacist, or a VIPPS-certified online provider. Note the real drug’s color, shape, size, packaging, and any side effects it causes.
• When you receive a new order of medication, look it over. Carefully compare its appearance and packaging with the known sample. Do the pills or tablets look the same?
• Watch for differences in how the new batch of medication makes you feel. Are you having different side effects than you had with the verified original? Is it having the same effect on your illness? A different response could indicate different, too much, or too little active ingredients.
• Report any potential problems. If you believe you could be taking a counterfeit drug, call your doctor and pharmacist for verification and advice on what to do next. If your fears are confirmed, contact the FDA at 800-332-1088 or online at www.fda.gov/medwatch.

For more information, visit Partnership for Safe Medicines at www.safemedicines.org.

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