THE HEALTH PRODUCTS Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has released its annual enforcement data showing that it detained 940,000 dosage units of falsified and illegal medicines in 2022. 

The most significant categories of illegal products detained included sedatives (26%), anabolic steroids (22%), erectile dysfunction medicines (9%), analgesics (7%), and Stimulants (5%).

Announcing the figures today, the HPRA warned of the serious health dangers posed by sourcing prescription medicines online and from unauthorised sources and stressed that consumers can have no guarantees about the safety or quality of illegal prescription medicines.

The director of compliance with the HPRA, Grainne Power, said that the 2022 figures highlight the risks people are taking when attempting to buy prescription medicines online.

“When you acquire medicines from unregulated sources, you simply have no idea what you are getting. This isn’t merely about people wasting money on falsified or counterfeit products.”

“It is also about the very real health dangers of significant side effects, of using a product without supervision, where there is no guarantee of what it contains, and of experiencing interactions with other medicines being taken.”

Grainne Power, Director of Compliance with the HPRA Fennell Photography Fennell Photography

In the last two years over two and half million units of illegal prescription medicines from unauthorised sources have been seized by the HPRA.

“The internet is a major channel in the supply of illegal prescriptions medicines into Ireland. We know that the sources behind these sites can be bogus, or worse, criminal networks,” Power continued.

“The monitoring of websites, online marketplace advertisements and social media sites throughout the year to identify illegal sales of medicines is a key part of our work to protect consumers.”

“We continue to urge people not to engage in risky behaviour by purchasing prescription medicines from internet pharmacies or social media sites. Self-medicating with online prescription products could have serious consequences for your health.”

Today’s figures represent a significant decrease in illegal medicines seized by the HPRA since the pandemic.

The agency seized over 1.6 million doses in 2021, including 28,000 units of Ivermectin, a medicine typically used as a horse dewormer which has been incorrectly touted as a ‘cure’ for Covid-19.