The Government wants to see a balance between regulation, enforcement, quality information and accessibility in relation to the availability of medicines on the internet.
That was the position set out by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Ms Gisela Stuart) during a debate in the House of Commons on July 11.
Ms Stuart said that the electronic purchase of medicines was a matter for increasing concern, but that the Government wanted Britain to be a world leader in e-commerce. The availability of medicines on the internet was underpinned by the same controls over advertising and sale as for normal purchases. Medicines were not ordinary items of commerce and purchasers should only get what was appropriate for their medical condition. In addition to legal controls and the requirement for pharmacists to supervise medicine sales, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society had published interim standards for internet pharmacy in Britain. Pharmacists selling medicines online had to exercise the same care as their colleagues selling medicines elsewhere. That included refusing sales when appropriate. Some pharmacists believed that it was possible to offer a fully professional service over the internet.
"Our plan is not to limit the availability of useful information about medicines," Ms Stuart said. "We want to encourage the provision of good quality information and health care to consumers."
She added that the Medicines Control Agency included a unit dedicated to internet enforcement. Staff had been specially trained and computer hardware and software to search for websites had been bought. A number of websites had been closed down or modified as a result. Several criminal prosecutions were also expected.
In this regard, the Minister said that the MCA had close links with the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the US Food and Drug Administration.
The debate was initiated by Dr Ian Gibson (Lab, Norwich North). Dr Gibson expressed concern over websites that offered prescription medicines illegally or which sold unlicensed products accompanied by medicinal claims.