Online Pharmacies are a fairly new online industry. However they are growing rapidly as many major Pharmacy chains have been putting large amounts of money into them. In 1998 Soma.com became the first online pharmacy. Within a year, CVS purchased Soma.com for 30 million dollars. Following CVS's example, Rite Aid spend $8 on drugstore.com so that they would be the exclusive provider of Rite Aid products. Then GNC put two and a half million dollars into drugstore.com for the same reason.
To help give the reader some idea of how well online Pharmacies are doing, I've included the following:
So why is everyone using online pharmacies? Well they do have several advantages over their noncyber counterparts. People can conduct their pharmacy transactions from the comfort of their own home. This can be more convient than going to the pharmacy, especially if the patient is disabled, elderly, or do not live near any pharmacies and traveling to the pharmacy is an ordeal. Also you can usually find cheaper prices online if you are willing to look around for a bargain. There are many sites that will do your searching for you, like pillbot.com.

Also due to the large role that computers play in the online prescription process there is less chance that you will recieve the wrong number or kind pill. Many online pharmacies also provide their customers with the option of emailing a licensed professional to answer their questions. In addition to that, most also have written product descriptions and links to other sites that provide more infomation about a given product.

Despite all of the above reasons that online pharmacies can be advantagious, there are also some factors that should make the online consumer wary. Some pharmacies give their customers a prescription drug without the customer having to first talk to a health care professional. They merely have to answer an online questionaire in order to get a prescription. While this might seem like an easy way out of having to the doctor's office, it is usually not a good idea. By doing this, you put yourself at risk of getting a counterfeit, sub-potent, or inappropriate drug. There have already been several fatalities caused by this practice. Robert McCutcheon purchased Viagra after filling out an online questionaire in which he indicated that he had a family history of heart problems. He received the drug even though it is not recommended for patients with cardiac trouble. He died after suffering a fatal heart attack, shortly after using Viagra. In another case, Alvin Chernov from Arizona purchased two muscle relaxants and fen-phen (a diet drug combo) after a doctor prescribed them online without physically examining him. Later he had violent mood swings, which his family said were caused by the drugs, and took his own life.
There are also sites that will sell drugs that are unapproved, unsafe, or just in effective. There are several indications that will help you to spot online health fraud. If the product claims to be able to cure or treat all diseases and condition, then it is fake. Scam artists also like to use personal testimonials to prove thier products work because they are hard to prove. Any cure that claims to be quick and easy is usually false. Also drugs that claim to be "natural" are no safer than other treatments. If a product uses natural components over synthetic ones, yet is still powerful enough to function as an effective drug then it is powerful enough to cause side effects, thus should be used with the same care that a synthetic drug is. Another warning sign for health care fraud is when the product claims to be "New Found Treatment" or "Time Tested". If a drug really was that effective it would be all over the media not just confined to some obsure website. Money back guarantees should also make you think twice about buying a product. When a full money back guarantee is offered if you are not satisfied with the product then the proveyers of the product probably do not intend honor it, because most legitimate businesses could not make a profit if they were so generous with their guarantees.

There are also online pharmacies that are located in foreign countries. Many of these break the law by shipping prescription drugs that are not approved by the FDA into America. Some of these drugs are approved in the country where the pharmacy is located and some are not. This is bad for the consumer for several reasons. First of all, by taking unapproved drugs you are putting your health injeopardy. Aside from that, you never receive your order because the company may never send it or it might be seized by customs. This actually quite a common occurance as the following USENET user describes: In either case there really is no way to get the money back.

So what is being done to make online pharmacies safer for for all? Many different organizations are trying to improve the online industry. The World Health Organizaton (WHO) is making "Medical Products and the Internet", a guide that will inform the online consumer. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Trade Comission (FTC), and Health Canada have combined their efforts to eliminate online false marketing of health products by launching Operation Cure.All. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) designated Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites. All VIPPS

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