Are Canadian Internet pharmacies safe?
Some Internet users have asked why we do not approve foreign pharmacies, including those in Canada. There is a common misperception that “Canadian” Internet pharmacies are just as safe as brick-and-mortar pharmacies in the United States or in Canada. In many cases, they are not. In order to drive costs down, some “Canadian” pharmacy websites sometimes maintain an office with a pharmacist in Canada, but acquire drugs from India, China or Turkey, and circumvent both American and Canadian drug safety laws. It is difficult for the Canadian authorities to respond, because the drugs may not enter Canada at any point in time. Additionally: • Some prescription drugs imported from foreign countries including Canada have turned out to be counterfeit. • A 2005 FDA operation found that nearly half of the imported drugs intercepted from India, Israel, Costa Rica, and Vanuatu were shipped to fill orders that consumers believed were placed with “Canadian” pharmacies. Of the drugs being promoted as “C
