Responding to the publication by the General Pharmaceutical Council of a roundtable into tackling fake pharmacies and medicine sellers online, Henry Gregg, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association said:
"We're pleased that regulators have taken on board concerns raised by the NPA about a boom in websites and social media accounts impersonating legitimate pharmacies to sell counterfeit medicines.
"This is not just affecting online pharmacies but also some traditional bricks and mortar members as well.
"The vast majority of pharmacies have had difficulties getting these accounts removed when reporting these to social media companies, who we are concerned are asleep at the wheel when it comes to tackling this dangerous criminal behaviour.
"We agree that these companies need to take tougher action to remove these and liaise with regulators to take action against those running these websites and accounts. Search engines can also play their part.
"As well as these, regulators need look at ways to more clearly identify a safe legitimate pharmacy online. This could include examining the feasibility of introducing a .pharmacy domain name as well as the scaling up of enforcement action against illegal sellers."
