Drugs cost more online

Prescription medications cost an average 10 per cent more online than in traditional pharmacies, according to a study from the University of Pennsylvania.

Researchers found that the two drugs most commonly bought online, Viagra and Propecia - an anti-hair loss product for men - cost up to $1 more per pill over the Internet than in Philadelphia-area chemists.

The study also expressed concern that sales of medication over the Internet are open to abuse. Nearly 20 per cent of the sites surveyed offered prescription drugs without requiring a prescription. All of those sites are located outside of the United States.

The study concluded: "The Internet may expand patient access to health-related services, but at overall increased cost."

It is illegal in the UK to sell prescription drugs over the Internet, according to Roger Odd, head of professional and scientific support at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. However, no law prevents consumers from purchasing prescription drugs online for personal use.

"We are opposed to this loophole as it stands," Odd commented. He explained that the law is intended for people who have been prescribed a course of medication in another country to be able to continue their treatment in the UK, even if the drug is not sold here.

He insisted: "We think it's not right for people to initiate therapies themselves, particularly with medicines that haven't been through tests for safety."

Odd said his organisation has asked the UK's Medicines Control Agency to review this regulation.