Only sites published by a pharmacy will be able to participate in the Internet sale of drugs dispensed without a prescription.
Thursday, June 27, Interpol announced that it had seized nearly 10 million units of counterfeit drugs, and potentially fatal, during a vast operation called “Pangea 6”. Carried out simultaneously in 99 countries including France, it took place from June 18 to 25, 2013 and resulted in arrests all over the world.
The counterfeiting of drugs by mafias around the world is a growing concern because the phenomenon is developing despite the seizures. So much so that, according to data from the World Health Organization, 50% of drugs sold on the Internet are counterfeit. In addition, 96% of online pharmacies are said to be illegal.
Faced with this new scourge, and, in the interest of the consumer, the Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine, wanted to legislate on the online sale of drugs. As a result, in France, this trade is now very supervised.
The decree which regulates the sale of drugs via the web was indeed published on June 23 and will come into force on July 12. It allows around 4000 drugs sold without a prescription (paracetamol, cough suppressant, etc.) to be accessible online. The text states that the site will be the “virtual extension” of a physical pharmacy itself authorized. The drugs will therefore be sold via sites published by a pharmacy and authorized by the Regional Health Agency (Ars) on which they depend.
Regarding the form, all products sold on the internet must be presented “in an objective, clear and non-misleading manner”. Concretely, only the following elements must appear on the presentation of the drug, its trade name, the therapeutic indication (s), the galenic form (sachets, tablets, capsules, etc.), the number of dosage units and the price.
For the leaflets attached to medicinal products concerning in particular the precautions for use and the dosage, they will be available online and printable.
And the debate between the different drug players was intense because the government initially wanted to limit the list of products that could be sold online to drugs “sold over the counter”, that is to say around 450. But , the State Council then the Competition Authority considered that the government’s draft decree was too restrictive and recommended for its part that the sale be extended to all drugs not subject to medical prescription. In the end, it was their opinion and not that of the Minister of Health that was followed. So 4000 drugs sold without a prescription will be on sale on the internet in two weeks.
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