many of these websites made fraudulent claims

The United States Food & Drug Administration is finally getting tough on web sites which are hosted in America which sell unlicensed and misbranded medications.  In all it is estimated the about 100 sites have been shut down in response to warning letters sent to internet service providers and companies that register domain names and host web sites. The letters warned these companies they were breaking the law and that if they didn’t shut down they would be prosecuted.

Ms. Karen Riley speaking on behalf of the FDA said that many of these websites made fraudulent claims such as that the drugs they were selling had been approved by the FDA. They were also often selling medications without the requirement of a prescription which was again against United States law. The reason why the FDA can act against these web sites is that they were physically hosted in America but the ones which are hosted abroad will be able to continue operating. In fact it is expected that many of these websites that the FDA has warned will immediately appear again but will be hosted in a different country out of the FDA’s legal jurisdiction.

Despite the good intentions of the FDA it is likely only to make a small impact on the illegal online pharmacy business worldwide which sells millions of pounds worth of fake Viagra, fake Cialis and fake Levitra every day. Much of the illegal business in fake erectile dysfunction medication is linked to organised crime and even in some cases terrorist activity. LegitScript, which verifies the legitimacy of online pharmacies said that some of them had been selling powerful fake antidepressant medication which could be dangerous. LegitScript which does test purchases found that many of the drugs came from India which is one of the largest manufacturers of counterfeit prescription medication.

LegitScript claims that the majority of online pharmacies are illegal and that out of over 50,000 it is likely that only about a thousand actually followed the law and follow the guidelines of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites program.

Our advice at Ukmedix News is that unless you can verify the name and address of the dispensing pharmacy in the United Kingdom you should avoid online purchases completely. We also advise that the only medications you should use are genuine versions of Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.