More than two million people in the UK now buy their medicines online, research published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPSGB) suggests. People willing to purchase drugs without prescription seem to be the main users of these on line services.

Up to a third of these medicines may be fake and could seriously damage people's health, it warns.

According to the RPSGB, the most popular drugs sold online are Prozac© for depression, Viagra© for impotence and Valium© to sleep.


In the UK, it is possible to obtain a prescription online, as long as that prescription is signed by a doctor. But many circumvent the process and go straight to an internet dealer, even though it is illegal to provide prescription drugs without a prescription.

There is little the RPSGB can do to protect these people, but warn them of the dangers of taking drugs which could be at best useless and at worst positively harmful, the society said.

But what it can do is try to protect people with bona fide prescriptions or those who are buying over-the-counter drugs and who are shopping around for the best available price.

Local pharmacy 'safest'

The RPSGB  has created a logo  for online chemists so shoppers know which businesses are reputable; it will be clearly visible on the homepage of legitimate UK online pharmacies.

A link will take the user to the society's registration page, where they can check the chemists' credentials and those of the pharmacists who run the business.