{"id":1780,"date":"2018-12-13T18:58:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T18:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/graymarket_ed_meds\/"},"modified":"2020-07-15T10:30:57","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T10:30:57","slug":"graymarket_ed_meds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/graymarket_ed_meds\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray market erectile disfunction medications pose risk to consumers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Did you know the vast majority of online pharmacies are illegitimate? A<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>rev<\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>ew<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) found that only 2.4 percent of online pharmacies comply with U.S. pharma<\/span><\/span>cy laws and practice standards<\/span><\/span>. This alarming statistic sheds<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>light on the\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>growing threat of illegal, online pharmacies \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>a component of\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>the gray market<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 to consumer health<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>While many online pharmacies may present themselves as a legal, safe<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span><\/span>\/or<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>cheaper option, purchasing medicines\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>from\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>these websites could come at the cost of safety and security if consumers do not take the appropriate precautions.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Medications for erectile dysfunction (ED) \u2013 which affects 24 percent of men in the United States over the age of 18 \u2013 are among the most commonly sold medications on the gray market. Due to a number of factors including the stigma some consumers experience around sexual health conditions and treatments, many patients suffering from ED don\u2019t talk to their doctors or have prescriptions filled. This creates an environment where consumers may instead seek out unsafe, illegitimate online pharmacies to get these prescription medicines.<\/p>\n

In accordance with our mission to ensure all Americans have access to safe, effective medicines, the National Consumers League (NCL) partnered with Bayer to develop a white paper, Increased Consumer Risk from Erectile Dysfunction Medication Advertised and Sold on the Gray Market, to analyze the possible dangers consumers face by purchasing ED medications from illegal online pharmacies. NCL presented the paper\u2019s findings in November at the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) Global Foundation\u2019s Spotlight on Illegal Online Drug Sales Research Symposium in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

Based on<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the research<\/span><\/span>, the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>white paper recommends five concrete policies<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to improve consumer safety<\/span><\/span>, including:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n