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Buying Medicine from Outside the U.S. is Risky Business


Snake entwined around a prescription medicine bottle

Think it’s safe buying medicine from outside the United States?
Think again.

Medicine you buy from outside the United States may be fake, contain the wrong active ingredient, wrong amount or no medicine at all. The medicine may not be appropriate to treat you and your condition — and it could be dangerous to your health. If you buy foreign medicine from an Internet site, from a storefront business that offers to order medicine for you, or during visits outside of the United States, you are risking your health. Even medicine that appears to be the same or have the same brand name as the medicine you buy in the United States can be dangerously different.

Don’t put your health in danger.


Check with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (www.nabp.net/vipps/consumer/listall.asp), or your local state board of pharmacy, to determine whether a Web site or online pharmacy is licensed and in good standing within the United States. You should report to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (www.nabp.net/vipps/consumer/report.asp) any adverse reactions you have had to a medicine purchased from outside the United States.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Food and Drug Administration

www.fda.gov/cder

Consumer Education: Buying Medicine From Outside the United States

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Date created: December 18, 2003; updated March 9, 2004

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