Canadian health care advocates have called on the government to ban Internet pharmacies, saying the drug outlets endanger the health of the country’s residents.
The Canadian Treatment Action Council, an advocacy group for people living with HIV/AIDS, and the Canadian Hemophilia Society were among six groups that called on Prime Minister Paul Martin to outlaw the pharmacies.
Council chairwoman Louise Binder said the surge of U.S. demand for drugs via Internet pharmacies restricts Canadians’ access to the drugs and pushes drug prices higher.
“There will be shortages if we keep giving the amount of drugs that companies send into Canada outside the country,” she said.
The business of marketing prescription drugs to Americans over the Internet has grown rapidly because the drugs are less expensive in Canada due to government price controls, according to news reports.
Many Americans get their prescriptions filled in Canada by placing orders through Web sites operated by Canadian pharmacies, which then mail the drugs to the patients in the U.S.
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