500,000 tablets seized in 2009

ALMOST half a million tablets and capsules were seized by the State’s drug policing body in 2009, an increase of almost 40% over the previous year.

There were 5,671 other products, including liquids and creams confiscated by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).

Some of the products seized contained various active substances used to treat anxiety and insomnia. Many were in the area of weight loss and erectile dysfunction.

The number of enforcement cases involving breaches of medicinal product legislation increased by 20% — from 3,037 in 2008 to 3,729 in 2009.

Most were mail order prescription-only medicinal products, with the majority originating from India.

IMB enforcement officers identified 1,009 websites seeking to supply medicinal products in Ireland illegally and action was taken to close them down.

Launching the IMB’s 2009 annual report yesterday, chief executive, Pat O’Mahony, stressed the danger of buying medicines online because there was no guarantee of their safety, quality and effectiveness.

The number of applications for new medicines increased from 1,268 in 2008 to 1,925 in 2009.

The IMB also monitored the safety of the swine flu vaccines, with 900 adverse reaction reports received up to the end of 2009.

The report points out that the unprecedented number of national adverse reaction reports was due to enhanced surveillance, together with the extent of exposure to the vaccines.

And in 2009, the IMB’s website received a substantially higher number of visitors than any other year. Over 77,000 individuals visited the website, with over 1.5m pages viewed.

Much of the increased website interest was due to the publication of information relating to swine flu and the facility to report adverse reactions associated with the vaccination programme.

During 2009, 108 applications to conduct clinical trials were approved by the IMB. No application was rejected.

A record number of 2,042 applications for authorisation of veterinary medicinal products were received during the year.

There were 148 reports of suspected adverse reactions associated with the use of veterinary medicines during the year.

www.imb.ie.