Consumers will shortly be able to buy common medicines online for the first time as the laws on internet pharmacy are liberalised.
However, the change will apply only to drugs currently purchased over the counter and will not apply to prescription medicines.
Online pharmacy will operate only within the Republic and patients will not be able to legally purchase drugs on the internet from overseas suppliers.
The move is likely to lead to greater price competition on over the counter drugs. Currently, the price of these drugs is not controlled, whereas ex-factory prices apply in the case of prescription medicines.
Increasing numbers of Irish consumers have responded to high medicine prices here by sourcing their needs overseas. It is legal to move medicines across borders in the EU when they are required for personal use but a ban applies to internet purchases.
Illegal medicines
New figures show illegal medicines, including sedatives, weight-loss products, erectile dysfunction drugs and anabolic steroids, are still being imported into Ireland in massive quantities.
Last year, more than 758,000 dosage units of counterfeit and illegal medicines were seized by the IMB, roughly the same as in 2011.
The board said it was particularly concerned by the high level of illegal weight-loss products found. Many when tested were found to contain sibutramine, a banned product that has caused severe reactions in some users and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
There was a big rise in seizure of sedatives, from 153,000 units to 247,000 units, which often end up being resold in smaller quantities on the black market.
Breaches
More than 3,900 enforcement investigations for breaches of the legislation on medicinal products were carried out, a decrease of 16 per cent on the previous year. Nine cases were successfully prosecuted.
Most of the unauthorised substances being imported into Ireland have come from the UK, which is used as a transit point, China, the US and India.
Mr O’Mahony emphasised the dangers of buying medicines online and urged consumers not to risk their health by using unapproved or unauthorised medicines.
“We strongly recommend that members of the public never to purchase prescription medicines online as there are no guarantees as to the safety, quality or effectiveness of these products. There is absolutely no way for people to establish whether medicines available on the internet contain what they claim to or if they are in any way effective in treating the illness or condition in question.”
Other products that were detained in significant quantities last year included diazepam, melanotan, zopiclone, flurazepam and testosterone.
