Unlicensed…to kill or cure?

Viagra, Celebrex, Propecia, Xenical, Phentamine, Adipex, Bontril, Ionaman, Meridia, Didrex, Tenuate, Zyban, Valtrex, Acyclovir, Ortho tri-cyclon, Claritin, Flonase, Ventolin, Tramadol, Imigran, Caverject, Menifin, Valium, Diazepam, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Bromazepam, Phenobarbitone, Zoloft, Buspar, Imipramine, Amoxicillin, Cephalaxin, Inderal, Adalat, Enalapril, Atenolol, Zovirax, Diflucan, Relenza…What do these all have in common? They are all available via the Internet from online ‘pharmacies’. To compile the list took a couple of minutes’ searching, and it represents only a fraction of drugs, mainly prescription-only goods, available online, says John Allan, Head of Pharmaceutical Investigations at Carratu International (www.carratu.com).

At the time of its UK licensing, our Internet monitoring found illicit Viagra Internet sites going online at an incredible rate; one of the first sites we located was www.Viagra-Plus.co.uk; it was owned by a dealer in Wolverhampton, Dean Sithwentis. Not only was Sithwentis selling unlicensed Viagra on his site, he also had a selection of hard-core pornography, and bulletin boards, which he used to advertise ‘escort services’.