EDITORIAL - Drugs online

In the time of COVID, the plan makes sense: the Food and Drug Administration is reportedly planning to allow e-pharmacies – online retailers without physical stores – to sell over-the-counter drugs. Safeguarding public health, however, calls for proper implementation of the move. Can the FDA enforce product standards in online pharmacies?

The need to avoid crowds has made electronic commerce boom during the pandemic. These days, people can order nearly everything online, from food to plants and even electronic appliances and heavy equipment. The downside, however, is that e-commerce has also seen a rise in complaints from consumers who did not get what they paid for or who fell victim to other fraudulent transactions.

Without efficient regulation, buying fake, substandard or diluted drugs, vitamins and other food supplements online can endanger the consumer’s health. Many drugs need proper storage for health safety and optimum efficacy. This can be compromised in purely online enterprises with no brick and mortar shops.

The problem has been seen in the confiscation of fake Chinese drugs used for COVID treatment such as Lianhua Qingwen as well as fake paracetamol when supplies ran out at the start of the Omicron surge last month.

If the FDA pushes through with its plan, it must ensure strict regulation of e-pharmacies. The FDA has said online pharmacies will still be required to have an office and to identify the warehouse or source of their merchandise.

The country is already saddled with a flood of fake news, fake RT-PCR test results, fake vaccination cards and unregistered antigen testing kits. Relaxing the rules on e-pharmacies should not lead to the proliferation of fake drugs.