Counterfeit Drugs Survey
National Consumers League
Report Released
Prescription
drug counterfeiting has increased in recent years in the
Key Findings
· Four percent of respondents said they had purchased prescription drugs that they suspected might have been counterfeit;
· Consumers who thought they may have gotten counterfeit drugs were most likely to report the problem to the pharmacists who dispensed them (69 percent), but nearly a third (30 percent) failed to report their suspicions about counterfeit drugs to anyone;
· Many consumers do not know how drugs are distributed; 37 percent incorrectly thought that prescription drugs go directly from the manufacturers to the pharmacy shelves;
· Fifteen percent of respondents had purchased prescription drugs online. Older people were more likely to have bought prescription drugs online; in the age group 55 and older, 26 percent had done so.
· Consumers who have purchased prescription drugs online are not sure how to tell if they are real or counterfeit. More than half (53 percent) said there is no way to tell. Disturbingly, 27 percent agreed that if the online pharmacy guaranteed that the drugs were genuine, that was good enough for them, and 21 percent agreed that if the pictures of the drugs on a Web site looked the same as the drugs they purchase in a local pharmacy, they are probably real and not counterfeit.
· Online prescription drug buyers want the government to help assure that sellers are honest and trustworthy. Seventy-six percent favored the idea that state health departments should provide a list of legitimate pharmacy Web sites; 74 percent gave high marks to the suggestion that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should approve all locations where prescriptions are sold.
Survey Results
Q. 1 Have you ever purchased a
prescription drug?
Most respondents, 98 percent, had purchased prescription drugs. Two percent had not.
Q. 2 Have you ever suspected
that the prescription drug you purchased was counterfeit?
Most people who had purchased prescription drugs have never suspected that they were counterfeit (93 percent). Four percent have suspected that a prescription drug they purchased was counterfeit. Three percent did not know.
Q. 3 When you suspected that a
prescription drug was counterfeit, what did you do?
Multiple answers were accepted from those who suspected that a prescription drug was counterfeit. The most likely action they took was to tell the pharmacist who dispensed the drug. A third did not do anything about their suspicions. None notified the pharmaceutical manufacturer.
|
Told the pharmacist |
40% |
|
Told their doctor |
34% |
|
Told their insurance company |
9% |
|
Told their state health department |
6% |
|
Told the local police |
3% |
|
Told the pharmaceutical manufacturer |
- |
|
Did nothing |
34% |
Q. 4 If someone suspects that a drug is
counterfeit, what would be the best thing to do?
Multiple answers were accepted for this question, which was asked of all respondents who had bought prescription drugs, whether they had ever suspected that a drug was counterfeit or not. Telling the pharmacist who dispensed the drug was most frequently cited as the best thing to do.
|
Tell the pharmacist |
69% |
|
Tell the police |
46% |
|
Tell your doctor |
45% |
|
Tell the Food and Drug Administration |
43% |
|
Tell the pharmaceutical manufacturer |
29% |
|
Throw the drug away |
18% |
|
Do nothing |
1% |
Consumers age 55 and older were more likely to say that they would report it to a pharmacist (74 percent) and to the Food and Drug Administration (48 percent) but less likely to report it to the police (39 percent).
Q.5 Have you ever purchased a drug online?
Fifteen percent of all respondents who had bought prescription drugs said that they had purchased a drug online. Twenty-six percent age 55 or older had done so.
The following questions were asked only of those who had purchased a drug online:
Q. 6 When you purchased the prescription drug online –
I had a prescription from my own doctor before I made the purchase.
Eighty-three percent said they
always had a prescription from their doctor, 6 percent said they almost always
had one, and 12 percent said they never or almost never had a prescription from
their own doctor. 
An online doctor
provided the prescription before I made the purchase.
Thirty-four percent said that an online doctor had always or nearly always provided a prescription before they made an online drug purchase.
I was not asked for a prescription before making the purchase.
Nearly a third, 30 percent, said that in all or nearly all of the times they purchased prescription drugs online they were not asked for a prescription.
Q. 7 Consumers who had bought prescription drugs online were then asked to agree or disagree with the following statements:
All online drug sellers are required to be licensed in my state.
Forty-one percent agreed with the statement, 30 percent disagreed, 29 percent were unsure. Most states require that pharmacies be licensed to sell drugs to people who reside in the state, even if the pharmacy only operates online.
There is no way to tell if a prescription drug sold online is real or counterfeit.
More than half of respondents (53 percent) agreed, 17 disagreed, and 30 percent were unsure.
When the online pharmacy guarantees the drug is real, that is enough for me.
Twenty-seven percent agreed, 40 percent disagreed, and 33 percent were unsure.
If the picture of the drug on the Web site looks the same as a drug I purchase in a local pharmacy, it is probably real and not counterfeit.
Twenty-one percent agreed, 46 percent disagreed, and 32 percent were unsure.
A VIPPS seal
guarantees that the drug is not counterfeit.
Twenty-one percent agreed, 24 percent disagreed, and 55 percent were unsure. VIPPS is a program sponsored by the National Boards of State Pharmacies to certify that Internet pharmacies have at least met all state licensing requirements. The VIPPS seal gives consumers more confidence in dealing with online pharmacies, but it does not guarantee that a drug dispensed by a VIPPS phamarcy can never be counterfeit.
The FDA checks all
drugs sold by online pharmacies to ensure that they are real, not counterfeit.
Twelve percent agreed, 58 percent disagreed, and 30 percent were
unsure. The FDA investigates reports about counterfeit drugs but it does not
check all drugs sold in pharmacies to ensure that that they are real.
Most prescription
drugs go directly from the drug manufacturer to the pharmacy shelf.
Thirty-seven percent agreed, 30 percent disagreed, and 33 percent were
unsure. Most prescription drugs reach the pharmacy shelves through
distributors, rather than being shipped directly from the manufacturer.
Prescription drug
manufacturers are required to report suspected cases of counterfeit drugs to
the Food and Drug Administration.
Sixty-eight percent agreed, 5 percent disagreed, and 27 percent were
unsure. There is no law that requires drug manufacturers to report suspected
cases of counterfeit drugs to the FDA.
If I purchase my
prescriptions from an online drug seller, I do not have to see my own doctor to
obtain a prescription.
Twenty percent agreed, 55 percent disagreed, and 25 percent were
unsure. The Food and Drug Administration strongly suggest that before obtaining
a prescription drug for the first time, consumers should have a physical
examination by a doctor.
Q. 8 In purchasing prescription drugs online, could you tell me what best describes your experience
Eighty percent said that they had never had a reason to believe that a drug they had purchased online was fake. Nine percent said they had sometimes doubted whether the drug they purchased online was the same as if they had bought it at a local drug store or by mail. Four percent said that there are things they look for to assure that the drug they buy online is what they want. Only one percent said that they suspected a drug they bought online was counterfeit. Six percent said that buying drugs online provided them with more privacy and confidentiality.
Q. 9 Which of the following would be a sign that an online
prescription drug Web site is not legal?
(All that apply)
The clue that
consumers most frequently cited was if the Web site offered prescription drugs
without a prescription.
|
There are no approval seals from a pharmacy |
49 % |
|
They offer prescription drugs without a prescription required |
84 % |
|
They don’t have a “bricks and mortar” or physical address listed |
37 % |
|
There is no pharmacist available to answer questions |
58 % |
|
They only sell a limited number of medications |
41 % |
Q.
10 In your opinion on a scale of one to five with
one being the last and five being the best way to assure that online
prescription drug sellers are honest and trustworthy?
A list from the state health department and the Food and Drug Administration approving all locations where prescription drugs are sold were most frequently cited as the best way to assure that online prescription drug sellers are honest and trustworthy.
Best Least
|
The state health department should provide a list of legitimate sites |
76% |
7% |
|
Through experience, consumers who purchase online know the best sites |
31% |
43% |
|
There should be a seal or certification on Web site |
59% |
19% |
|
The Food and Drug Administration should approve all locations where Prescriptions are sold |
74% |
10% |
Advice
for consumers about avoiding counterfeit drugs
Clearly these survey findings
demonstrate a need for consumer education in the area of identifying and
reacting to counterfeit drugs. The National Consumers League has developed new
resources for consumers about how to spot and avoid counterfeit prescription
drugs — and about the safest way to purchase prescription drugs online — on its
Fraud.org Web site. The tips include:
- Know your medications. If you know the size, shape,
color, taste, and side effects of the prescriptions you take, you can more
easily identify possible counterfeits.
- Pay attention to packaging. Check for altered or
unsealed containers or changes in the packaging or label.
- If you believe you have bought a counterfeit drug,
report it. Contact the pharmacist who sold you the medication. Also
report your suspicions to the Food and Drug Administration’s Medwatch program.
Complete survey results, additional
tips for avoiding counterfeit drugs and purchasing drugs online, and help about
reporting suspected counterfeits are available at www.fraud.org.
Methodology
Opinion
Research Corporation conducted an online survey on