ROCKVILLE,Md.—Providing an exclamation mark to the safety concerns the Food and Drug Administration has concerning prescription drug imports, the FDA and the United States Customs and Border Protection agency last month released statistics on a second round of drug seizures made at six U.S. points of entry.

In all, 1,728 packages containing unapproved medicines were confiscated, the majority of which (80 per-cent) were from Canada. The dangers of the imported medicines ranged from improper labeling for the U.S. market to drugs that had been recalled in their country of origin, but were, in fact, U.S.bound.

"Anyone who has a doubt about the risks that illegal importation poses, must recognize that these facts speak for themselves," stated Craig Fuller, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. "[The FDA's]conclusions emphasize the value of the community retail pharmacist" and the safety afforded from a closed pharmaceutical distribution system, he added.

Opposition is mounting in Canada to what is for them a growing prescription drug export business. 'It's time for the Canadian government to intervene and protect Canadian patients from the cross-border Inter-net drug trade," stated Lothar Dueck, president of the Coalition for Manitoba Pharmacy, in a press release late last month.
And Canadians are taking action. For instance, the Canadian Medical Protective Association last month stated it no longer would provide malpractice insurance to Canadian doctors who "co-sign" American prescriptions in order to facilitate the practice of Internet pharmacy, an action that the Canadian Medical Association publicly applauded.

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Feb 16 issue, Page 58