EU to protect the right to buy medicine online

THE Government could be forced to remove the current ban which forbids the sale of medicines by mail order and over the internet, following a ruling by the European Court of Justice.

A legal opinion issued by the Luxembourg-based court has ruled hat attempts to restrict on-line sales of medicine are contrary to EU laws on the free movement of goods.

The ruling, which is still subject to ratification by a full hearing of the European Court of Justice, has raised fears about an increase in the uncontrolled use of drugs.

Many thousands of Irish people already buy medicines over the internet from foreign-based suppliers who do not come under the control of the Irish authorities.

It is currently only unlawful to offer drugs for sale via a mail-order service in Ireland. Although there are no official figures for the size of the market, on-line medicine sales have increased significantly in the last few years due to cheaper prices and the availability of medicines which are prescription-only or unlicensed in Ireland.

The Irish Pharmaceutical Union, which represents around 1,400 chemists, has expressed concern that further liberalisation of mail-order medicine sales could pose a danger to the public.

There have already been reports of people ordering prescription-only medicines like Viagra and St John's Wort without any consultation with their own GP.

"The opinion of the Advocate General would seem to raise all kinds of public health issues in terms of use and misuse of drugs and access to counterfeit medicines that would not be in the interest of the public at large," said an IPU spokesperson.

She expressed hope that the eventual ruling of the European Court of Justice would "give the highest level of priority to ensuring the safety of public health."

The issue arose after the representative organisation of German chemists, Deutscher Apothekeverband, took legal action to prevent a Dutch company from selling medicines to German customers over the internet.

As in Ireland, there is a prohibition in Germany on the mail-order trade of medicines which are required to be sold through pharmacies.

The advertising of such services is also banned.

Advocate General Stix-Hackl ruled that such a ban could only be justified for the protection of health and life from of medicines which are required to be sold through pharmacies.

The advertising of such services is also banned.

Advocate General Stix-Hackl ruled that such a ban could only be justified for the protection of health and life from medicines that have not been authorised.

She claimed the German prohibition on the sale of medicines by mail-order constituted a barrier to the free movement of goods, and that such a ban could only be justified if the medicine was unauthorised in the country of medicine the purchaser or seller.

Her finding will be a precursor to a full hearing of the European Court of Justice, whose decisions are binding on all EU member states.

The opinions of advocate generals are regarded as a reliable indicator of the ultimate judgement of that court.

While the Irish Medicines Board has been successful in closing down a few Irish-based sites offering drugs over the internet, it has no powers over foreign-based suppliers.

Nonetheless, it has repeatedly warned people not to buy medicinal products over the internet.

"The quality, safety and effectiveness of these products cannot be guaranteed. However, we continue to follow up and bring appropriate action against all websites identified as trading medicinal products online," said an IMB spokesperson.

The IMB liaises with its European counterparts to try to prevent any foreign-based mail order companies from selling any medicines to Irish customers.