ADVISORY/``Rogue'' Online Pharmacies Threaten Consumer Health.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers ADVISORY...for Wednesday (Oct. 9) --(BUSINESS WIRE) drugstore.com(TM) CFO See Chief Financial Officer. Bob Barton testifies before FTC FTC See Federal Trade Commission (FTC). on issues of rogue pharmacies, the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs, and anticompetitive an·ti·com·pet·i·tive adj. That discourages competition among businesses: anticompetitive foreign trade restrictions. state regulations relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc e-commerce Every day consumers are putting their health at risk by buying prescription drugs such as Viagra and Propecia at "rogue" online pharmacies. Hundreds of disreputable dis·rep·u·ta·ble adj. Lacking respectability, as in character, behavior, or appearance. dis·rep Web sites have emerged selling prescription drugs without a valid prescription order. In some cases, controlled substances are available via the Web. Some sites blatantly advertise that no prescription is required. In other cases, the consumer is told to respond to a brief questionnaire and then a "doctor" provides a prescription for the requested drug, which is then mailed to the consumer. The illegal Web pharmacies bypass not only regulatory safeguards, but also the safeguards that are inherent in a legitimate doctor-patient relationship doctor-patient relationship, n in-teraction between a physician and a patient. . Consumers obtaining medications from so-called "rogue" pharmacies place their health at risk. Foreign Web sites pose added problems. They often advertise that they can deliver the same prescription drug the consumer buys in the U.S., but at a lower price. In reality, many of these drugs may be counterfeit, contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. , and sub potent medications. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. ) has implemented a personal importation policy allowing consumers to import small quantities of specific medications, unrestricted personal importation is illegal and can be dangerous. An argument can be made that the reason consumers shop at "rogue" pharmacies is because of the rising cost of prescription drugs. Over 3 billion prescriptions are filled each year, and according to the Wall Street Journal, the cost of prescription drugs increased 16 percent last year. With costs of some drugs in hundreds of dollars, an increasing number of seniors are forced to choose between their daily meals or their prescription drugs. Ironically, seniors can shop at a reputable online pharmacy such as drugstore.com (Nasdaq:DSCM DSCM Dry Standard Cubic Meter DSCM Demand and Supply Chain Management DSCM Digital Security Countermeasures DSCM Data Standards Configuration Management Board DSCM Master Chief Data Systems Technician (US Navy Rating) ) and save up to 30 percent, which is often less than what the rogue pharmacies charge.
What: An interview with drugstore.com CFO Bob Barton to
discuss the issues of increasing drug prices, how
consumers can save up to 30 percent by using
reputable online pharmacies, and the threats to
online pharmacies by state regulatory agencies.
Who: Bob Barton, vice president of finance and
chief financial officer for drugstore.com, inc.,
the nation's leading online pharmacy.
When: October 9, 2002
Where: Federal Trade Commission Headquarters Building,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington D.C. Room 432
Web site: http://www.ftc.gov/opp/ecommerce
Contact: For more information
or to arrange an interview call:
Walter Conner, drugstore.com
425-372-3224, wconner@drugstore.com
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