A new report by Vice News has revealed that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, more people are turning to buy medication such as the contraceptive pill at illegal online pharmacies. While certified sites are regulated and effective in many countries, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) warns that bogus sites are also out there which could sell potentially dangerous counterfeits.
To avoid falling into harm’s way, the FDA advises consumers to keep an eye out for a number of telltale signs. These include the fact that an online pharmacy should always require a doctor’s prescription and should have a licensed pharmacist available to answer any questions. At the same time, potential warning signs to look out for include if the website is offering prices that seem too good to be true and if the medicine it sells looks different from what you are expecting, whether it is damaged in some way or has no expiry date.
But how often do people buy medication online? According to Statista’s Global Consumer Survey, while most consumers choose to buy their pharmaceuticals in person, shopping habits are not the same everywhere. As our chart shows, the practice is far more normalized in Sweden, where 44 percent of consumers used an online pharmacy in the past 12 months and 13 percent used an online store. Of the selected countries, Germany also had a fairly high number of respondents reveal that they purchase medication either from an online pharmacy or an online store. Meanwhile, in the U.S. buying online meds is less common, with around 16 percent of respondents buying from an online pharmacy versus 65 percent who choose to buy from a local pharmacy and 30 percent who opted for a local retail store.
