More buy risky drugs on internet

BY REBECCA TODD

Dangerous reactions and possibly death will result from an influx of internet-order medicines containing everything from arsenic to bird droppings, health authorities warn.

The warning comes as medicines and therapeutic products intercepted at New Zealand's border have increased rapidly in recent years.

In 2009, Customs referred 14,581 parcels or packages to medicines regulator Medsafe, compared with 11,464 in 2008 and 4603 in the last half of 2007.

GNS Science principal scientist Dallas Mildenhall said screening of counterfeit Viagra stopped at New Zealand's border had found the major ingredient was guano – bat and bird droppings.

Other intercepted medicines had contained whole insects, dust mites, hair and char-coal.

Screening by Environmental Science and Research (ESR) has found heavy metals, including arsenic and mercury.

Otago University researcher Dr Clare Strachan said it was only a matter of time before imported medicines had nasty or possibly fatal consequences for Kiwi consumers.

Strachan recently co-authored a study of intercepted medicines in New Zealand which found many were mouldy and contained more or less than the amount of medicine stated on the packet. Some contained a completely different drug.

A counterfeit erectile dysfunction drug stopped at New Zealand's border had led to the death of a man in Singapore because it actually contained diabetes medication, she said.

While Medsafe stopped most medicines at the border, a sizeable amount was still getting through.

Strachan was concerned the growing internet-order trend could lead to a return to the "bad old days" of a non-regulated market.

"It's a big public safety risk," she said.

Internet buyers thought they were getting cheap deals, but often received counterfeit medicines.

A Viagra pill could cost about $25 in New Zealand, but people were ordering them online for just $1 or $2.

Medsafe said that in 2007 and 2008, only about a quarter of intercepted medicines and products were released to importers. The rest were destroyed.

Intercepted medicines included products for heart disease, weight loss, hair loss, erectile dysfunction, birth control, pain relief, insomnia and diabetes.

If they were prescription drugs, the consumer had to provide a prescription from a New Zealand doctor before they would be released.

Christchurch GP Dr Rob Williams said he had "shame-faced" men in the clinic asking him to sign a prescription for erectile dysfunction drugs ordered online.

Some were very upset because they paid hundreds of dollars for a bulk purchase now being held by Medsafe.

"I don't think any sensible doctor would sign something to release it. If it did have something toxic in it, it's your name authorising it," he said.

Medsafe compliance management manager Derek Fitzgerald said most medicines were imported for personal use, either over the internet or sent by family overseas.

The intercepted products included counterfeit drugs. In 2008, 241 packages of counterfeit medicine were seized, most Chinese-made erectile dysfunction products.

Others were anabolic steroids, a growth hormone and a treatment for baldness.

Last year, 66 packages of counterfeit medicines were intercepted and destroyed – all for erectile dysfunction.

Fitzgerald said people taking counterfeit products were risking their health.

"Counterfeit medicines are, of course, not subject to the comprehensive assessment that approved medicines must go through before they can be supplied in New Zealand," he said.

Importers were often surprised that they bought products from an internet site purportedly based in one country, such as the United States, and the consignment was sent from another, such as India.

"It is also alarming that New Zealanders would choose to source a medicine from another country without any consultation with a doctor and without any guarantees as to the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicine," Medsafe said.

- © Fairfax NZ News