Drugs can be sold up to three times more expensive according to pharmacies, according to the results of a survey by the Familles Rurales association. It also reveals that the attractive prices of online pharmacies are in fact a lure.
On the occasion of the publication of its Observatory of the prices of drugs sold without a prescription and in open access, the Rural Families association informs consumers that drugs sold on the Internet at online pharmacies are in fact more expensive than those sold in traditional pharmacies because these sites display “falsely attractive prices, because the delivery costs cancel out the display effect”.
Online drugs are not cheaper
“On average, the difference between the price offered in pharmacies and the price offered online is € 1 per box. However, the shipping costs amount to € 5.91. They are only “free” from an average purchase of € 60. Remember that the delivery of 5 boxes per drug is considered an acceptable maximum for non-prescription drugs, ”explains the report.
Medicines online: the French are still suspicious
Prices multiplied by 3 between pharmacies
The association is indignant that the majority (80%) of boxes of drugs do not display a price.
“Prices are gradually disappearing from boxes to appear only on displays, which are not always accessible or readable for consumers, especially for drugs located behind the counter. How then to know the price of the product that one wishes to buy? ”, Declares the association. Especially since from one pharmacy to another, the prices can go from simple to triple. The same drug costs, on average, twice as much to the consumer depending on the location.
As a result, the association calls on consumers to ask for the price of drugs and to compare them between pharmacies. She also wants health professionals to self-regulate better. She also asks “the Minister of Health to act to put an end to the bad practices linked to the sale of drugs online”.
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