An Easy Prescription to Follow
If you're looking to purchase drugs online, here are a couple of simple ways to increase the possibility the website you're considering buying drugs from is a legitimate website, and to protect yourself from receiving counterfeit or contraband drugs.
- Make sure the website carries a VIPPS® Seal, which signals that the online pharmacy has the seal of approval by The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
- Check that the site requires a valid prescription by a licensed healthcare provider.
- Check to see if there's a licensed pharmacist available to answer questions about your medicine or your order, and valid contact information.
If any of the above isn't true for the website, be suspicious! There's a strong chance that the website is not legitimate, nor are the drugs that come from it. This is even the case for websites that appear to be American or Canadian.
Unfortunately, an FDA study released last month concluded that many purchasers of drugs online are people specifically trying to avoid needing a valid prescription. Others were trying to find drugs at cheaper prices. Here, too, the FDA found that people were misguided, since more than half of the prescription drugs the FDA looked at for its study had FDA-approved generic versions, likely sold at lower prices.
Taking medicines without a valid prescription presents inherent risks, which are then compounded when the drugs are bought from illegitimate websites. While the need to save money is understandable, no amount of cost savings is worth risking your family's health and possibly their lives.
This website offers tools to help you make sure the prescription drugs you're buying come from a legitimate, safe source. Click here. It also has a guide for ways to find safe drugs at cheaper prices. Click here.
Remember protect yourself and your family! You are the last barrier to harm!