Dr Ian Banks, President, Men’s Health Forum talks about the dangers of buying drugs on the internet.

One of the unfortunate by products of men’s reluctance to visit their family doctor is that many men choose to use the internet for buying drugs. This is attractive to them, not least because general practice may fail to meet their needs. But the health risks are enormous.

An indication of how widespread this problem may be comes from a new survey on the men’s health website, malehealth.co.uk, showing that a significant number of men are buying drugs on the web.

The survey, in which 500 people replied, revealed that:

 
• 4.5 per cent of those who replied had bought drugs to help erections and sexual performance;  
• 2.7 per cent had bought drugs to help body-building or sporting performance; and  
• 1.9 per cent had bought drugs to help them lose weight.

If these figures are an accurate reflection of the male population as a whole, between half and three quarters of a million men in the UK have bought drugs online in an attempt to improve their erections and sexual performance.

But all these men are taking enormous risks with their health by going to the web for their drugs. Firstly, there is the problem of fake drugs. We know from recent reports that fake drugs are being peddled on the internet. DIY Viagra factories have been discovered making fake versions of the drug by mixing pesticides, brick dust and blue paint together in a cement mixer.

There is also a risk of serious problems if men are already on medication that should not be taken at the same time as the drugs bought online.

Also, by going to the web for their drugs, this eliminates the opportunity of finding out why the man requires the medicine and makes impossible early diagnosis of serious medical conditions, such as Diabetes and hypertension, both of which can cause Erectile dysfunction.

This new survey shows what a serious health risk we are facing globally with the buying and selling of Prescription Only Medicines on the net. What is now required is a determined worldwide campaign to highlight the dangers of buying medicines online.

This is a problem that is growing and while there is no proper monitoring system, the health risks are bound to increase. It is frightening to think how many fake drugs there are in the world and our advice to all men is to think hard before you buy any medicines on the web.

And once again it raises the whole issue of achieving better access for men to primary care.