Any pet owner knows that prescription medications for pets can be expensive. Even the non-prescription trade name products for flea control can set you back quite a bit, so it’s not surprising that many consumers turn to the internet to try and save money on these products.
There are many internet sites selling pet medications that represent legitimate, reputable pharmacies. Unfortunately, there is a growing problem of counterfeit drugs worldwide that includes both human and veterinary products. A counterfeit medication or drug is a medication which is produced and sold with the intent to deceptively represent its origin, authenticity or effectiveness. A counterfeit drug may contain inappropriate quantities of the active ingredients (or none at all), it may contain ingredients that are not on the label (which may or may not be harmful), or it may be supplied with inaccurate or fake packaging and labeling.
How big is the problem? Unfortunately, the biggest problem with counterfeit drugs is that they are difficult to detect, investigate, quantify, or stop, so the quantity of counterfeit medications is difficult to determine. In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that the annual earnings of counterfeit drugs were over $32 billion. By 2010 that estimate was up to $75 billion. And given the fact there is a considerable difference between the cost of manufacturing counterfeit medication and the price that counterfeiters charge, the problem is only growing. It’s an unfortunate fact drug counterfeiters can make more money than hard-drug traffickers, and they have less chance of going to prison.
It is estimated somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of the veterinary medications sold online in Australia are counterfeit. This is significant because many of the online websites selling to U.S. pet owners are located in Australia. Most commonly these products are the common heartworm preventatives, flea products and anti-inflammatory medications. The figures for the U.S. are estimated to be about the same. A World Health Organization report indicated that at least 80 percent of the veterinary products sold in Africa do not meet international standards. This is of great concern to consumers because of the potential issue of drug residues in animal products from the livestock industry.
What can a pet owner do?
• Order from a website that belongs to a Vet-VIPPS accredited pharmacy. Vet-VIPPS — the Veterinary-Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites – is a voluntary accreditation program of the National Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). They give their approval to online veterinary pharmacies that comply with their requirements including federal and state licensing and inspection requirements. Go to their website www.nabp.net/pro
grams/accreditation/vet-vipps and click on “Accreditation Programs” to find out if a pharmacy is Vet-VIPPS accredited.
• Order from a pharmacy service that your veterinarian uses. These state-licensed internet pharmacies work directly with veterinarians to provide medications to clients while preserving the veterinary-client-patient relationship that a veterinarian needs to legally dispense drugs. And because the veterinarian does not have to buy or stock these medications they can pass those savings on to you.
• If you find a medication online from an accredited pharmacy that has a lower price than your veterinarian, consider asking yours if they will match the price. Sales of drugs and supplies in a veterinary practice typically support most of the other services a hospital provides, so most veterinary practice owners would prefer a lower mark-up to no sale at all.
In the end, like most decisions a consumer has to make, it’s buyer beware. In the case of veterinary medications, though, you may be getting something that either doesn’t work as expected or, worse yet, could potentially harm your pet.
Dr. Kiel is the U.S. Army veterinarian currently supporting NAS Whidbey Island and Naval Station Everett. His columns appear the first and third Friday of each month. Please send questions or comments to Dr. Kiel at joseph.kiel@navy.mil.
