Consumer Education: Buying Medicine from Outside the United States

Medicine bought over the Internet from foreign sources, from storefront businesses that offer to buy foreign medicine for you, or during trips outside the United States, may not be safe or effective. These medicines may present health risks and FDA cannot ensure the safety of medicine from these sources. FDA cannot help you if you have problems with medicine you get from outside U.S. regulation and oversight. These educational products are intended to educate consumers about the risks of purchasing medicine from outside the U.S. and tell them how to protect themselves.

To obtain printed copies of any of these materials, please email your request by title to: dpapubs@fda.hhs.gov. You can also call 301-796-3703 or 1-888-INFO-FDA. 

• "Looks can be deceiving. The medicine you buy from outside the United States may be unsafe or ineffective. Don’t risk your health." This slim-jim tells the six major ways in which medicine bought outside the U.S. regulatory system can present health risks.
   

  • En Español  "Las apariencias engañan. La medicina que usted compra fuera de Los Estados Unidos puede ser peligrosa y deficiente. No arriesgue su salud."  This slim-jim tells the six major ways in which medicine bought outside the U.S. regulatory system can present health risks.
     

• "FDA Crackdown on Illegal Products." This FDA Consumer article from Mar/Apr 2004 describes actions taken by FDA in 2003 to address the growing threats from illegal drugs and false claims on dietary supplements. It also discusses "import blitzes" and the safety concerns that have been uncovered.
   

• "Imported Drugs Raise Safety Concerns." This FDA Consumer article from Sept/Oct 2002 describes the health hazards of medicine bought from outside the United States, the benefits of the U.S. system of medicine regulation, and what government agencies are doing to combat illegal importation of medicine.
   

• "Looks Can Be Deceiving. The medicine you buy from outside the United States may be unsafe or ineffective. Don't risk your health."  This one page community pharmacist flyer outlines the ways in which medicine bought from outside the United States can present health risks.
   

• "Looks can be deceiving: the risks of buying medicines from across the border or around the world."  This short article outlines the risks of buying medicine from foreign sources.

For more information about importing medicine from outside the United States, please visit the FDA page, "Importing Prescription Drugs" at: www.fda.gov/importeddrugs. 

For related topics, see the FDA Web pages:

“Combating Counterfeit Drugs” at www.fda.gov/counterfeit, and
“Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online” at: www.fda.gov/oc/buyonline/default.htm
“Consumer Education: Generic Drugs” at www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/generic_text.htm
“Office of Generic Drugs” at www.fda.gov/cder/ogd

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Date created: September 27, 2004; updated April 1, 2008

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