Warning: buying drugs online can seriously damage your health
When the old lady showed up at the A&E ward, it was too late. Doctors at Sunderland's Eye Infirmary discovered massive cataracts in both eyes, tumescent growths that had left the 64-year-old almost completely blind. Far from suffering declining health, though, her loss of vision was completely self-inflicted. The cataracts were caused by steroids, purchased from an online pharmacy in Thailand, which she'd been taking having incorrectly diagnosed herself with chronic fatigue syndrome.This is among the most tragic examples yet of the dangers of buying medicines over the web. Not that the case has proved much of a deterrent: the online drugs market has since continued to grow and is today estimated to be worth €28bn annually. Popular web-bought drugs include Viagra and Prozac, although there is also a thriving market for Valium, Ritalin (which is used to treat ADHD, but has a transient side effect of suppressing appetite) and Provigil, a narcolepsy treatment popular both with clubbers and stressed office workers because of its reputed rejuvenating powers.
By Ed Power
12 February 2008