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American Morning

Getting Medicine by Internet Can be Prescription for Trouble

Aired December 11, 2002 - 08:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Getting medicine by Way of the Internet can be a prescription for trouble. The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about buying certain drugs at online pharmacies.
And Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from Atlanta to put that into perspective for us now.

Good morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: Before we get to that, I'd love for to you comment on that explosive story coming from Stanford University. I guess it is being interpreted in a number of different ways. They made the simple announcement that they plan to create new types of embryonic stem cells that might ultimately require researchers to eventually attempt to form a human cloning. What's going on here?

GUPTA: Right. Well, it's been sort of an interesting story we've been following it along. The news was that Stanford actually acquired a $12 million private grant to do some studies actually on cells, specifically to look at tumor cells for cancer research. The sort of interesting part of the story that we're hearing sort of behind the scenes is that the actual way you create the cells is to actually do a form of what many people call therapeutic cloning. That is actually taking the DNA from a real cell and putting it into another cell that allows it to grow. The distinction here, Paula, is important, a little science-y, but important.

They are actually stopping the process of allowing the cells to grow before they could actually ever grow into an actual human being, ever be implanted into a uterus and allowed to grow. But this has been a point of distinction that has been very controversial in the past. If you allow these cells to develop at all, to divide at all, could they have the potential to possibly develop into a human being? Most researchers say, yes. The Stanford researchers have been very emphatic in denying this is actually any sort of cloning, but if you look at sort of the science behind it, the exact same techniques are involved in both -- Paula.

ZAHN: Well, let's turn back to the other story of the day that we want you to cover, and that is the whole idea of ordering drugs online. Is there a problem with that?

GUPTA: It's extremely popular. It's good for people who live in remote areas, elderly people that want to get their drugs online, people who have broken legs maybe even, Paula, getting their drugs online that way.

ZAHN: I'm not taking any more, Sanjay. I gave up on those. They don't help. And if you think they do help, all they do is put you to sleep. So They're all out of my system, thank you very much.

GUPTA: You're welcome. But there are a lot of good reasons. There a lot of legitimate, online pharmacies out there, no question. You take a look at some of the online pharmacies. People buy their drugs in that way for a long time now. The FDA has tried to strengthen some of its controls now, and actually trying to limit some of the drugs that you can buy online and some of the drugs that are actually imported.

Let's take a look at the long list there. There is a long list of drugs that you probably should not buy over the Internet. I will leave that list up there for a couple of minutes. You can take a look at the list. I won't read the medications, but let's just say that the FDA is concerned that some of the drugs may actually pose other safety risks, that is if they are not actually prescribed by a doctor, if a patient is not actually given a physical exam prior to given the medications, they could have some other side effects that may not otherwise be known. And that is why the FDA is cracking down a little bit, saying, OK, we recognize that there are legitimate sites out there, we recognize that people buy drugs online. Here is a list of drugs you should be careful about, and we are going to enforce that by restricting how these drugs actually get into the country. They are going to restrict the importing of these drugs as well -- Paula.

ZAHN: So, Sanjay, I'm a little confused. The list of drugs you just showed are drugs that you could buy online without a prescription, and normally you would need a prescription to get them?

GUPTA: That's right. Most of these drugs are all prescription drugs. What a lot of these online pharmacies do is sort interesting. They have you fill out a very simple questionnaire basically, just some basic biodata about yourself, and then provide a prescription for you from a doctor who reviews that biodata and provides a prescription, then you get the medication online.

You can see that that sounds a little difficult, no question. What doctors usually recommend is they give you the prescription. If you want go ahead and to purchase the drugs online with your own doctor's prescription, that's the way the FDA would prefer that you actually do things.

ZAHN: So let's close with some tips for smart shoppers out there who want to continue to buy drugs on the Internet.

GUPTA: Right. And there are some good tips out there. There are some good things to actually be aware of when you are buying some of these drugs. Check with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Web sites should require prescription, not just a prescription they provide for you, but a prescription from your doctor, a doctor who has actually seen you, done appropriate blood tests, and things like that. You should have access to a registered pharmacist. You know, Paula, you get a list of side effects, things to be concerned about if you are taking these medications. You should still get the list, and those are some of the things that you should sort of be aware about before buying drugs online. Again, these are very popular. Some of them are very legitimate. Some of them provide a really good service, again, for people who live in remote areas, can't always get to the pharmacy, but be careful about some of those things, as well as some of those drugs.

ZAHN: Can I do a final little editorializing in some of the drugs you are giving in the hospital?

GUPTA: Yes, please, Paula, I want to hear this.

ZAHN: I don't how people become addicted to them. because they make you feel awful, whether it's Vicadin or Percocet, or any of the other stuff you are given after...

GUPTA: Nausea, sleepiness, forgetfulness, yes.

ZAHN: Yes, it's horrible. But is it true that when people aren't sick they have a different reaction than people who are hospitalized taking these drugs.

GUPTA: I think some of the medications you are listing still cause extreme nausea, but for people, as you and I have talked about, can get an extreme high from some of the medications, and that's why some of these medications are actually sold on the black market, some of the medications you were just listing can go to several dollars a pop on the street.

ZAHN: Never got that high, Sanjay, just the blues from all that junk.

(CROSSTALK)

ZAHN: Thank you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Trouble>


Aired December 11, 2002 - 08:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Getting medicine by Way of the Internet can be a prescription for trouble. The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about buying certain drugs at online pharmacies.
And Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from Atlanta to put that into perspective for us now.

Good morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: Before we get to that, I'd love for to you comment on that explosive story coming from Stanford University. I guess it is being interpreted in a number of different ways. They made the simple announcement that they plan to create new types of embryonic stem cells that might ultimately require researchers to eventually attempt to form a human cloning. What's going on here?

GUPTA: Right. Well, it's been sort of an interesting story we've been following it along. The news was that Stanford actually acquired a $12 million private grant to do some studies actually on cells, specifically to look at tumor cells for cancer research. The sort of interesting part of the story that we're hearing sort of behind the scenes is that the actual way you create the cells is to actually do a form of what many people call therapeutic cloning. That is actually taking the DNA from a real cell and putting it into another cell that allows it to grow. The distinction here, Paula, is important, a little science-y, but important.

They are actually stopping the process of allowing the cells to grow before they could actually ever grow into an actual human being, ever be implanted into a uterus and allowed to grow. But this has been a point of distinction that has been very controversial in the past. If you allow these cells to develop at all, to divide at all, could they have the potential to possibly develop into a human being? Most researchers say, yes. The Stanford researchers have been very emphatic in denying this is actually any sort of cloning, but if you look at sort of the science behind it, the exact same techniques are involved in both -- Paula.

ZAHN: Well, let's turn back to the other story of the day that we want you to cover, and that is the whole idea of ordering drugs online. Is there a problem with that?

GUPTA: It's extremely popular. It's good for people who live in remote areas, elderly people that want to get their drugs online, people who have broken legs maybe even, Paula, getting their drugs online that way.

ZAHN: I'm not taking any more, Sanjay. I gave up on those. They don't help. And if you think they do help, all they do is put you to sleep. So They're all out of my system, thank you very much.

GUPTA: You're welcome. But there are a lot of good reasons. There a lot of legitimate, online pharmacies out there, no question. You take a look at some of the online pharmacies. People buy their drugs in that way for a long time now. The FDA has tried to strengthen some of its controls now, and actually trying to limit some of the drugs that you can buy online and some of the drugs that are actually imported.

Let's take a look at the long list there. There is a long list of drugs that you probably should not buy over the Internet. I will leave that list up there for a couple of minutes. You can take a look at the list. I won't read the medications, but let's just say that the FDA is concerned that some of the drugs may actually pose other safety risks, that is if they are not actually prescribed by a doctor, if a patient is not actually given a physical exam prior to given the medications, they could have some other side effects that may not otherwise be known. And that is why the FDA is cracking down a little bit, saying, OK, we recognize that there are legitimate sites out there, we recognize that people buy drugs online. Here is a list of drugs you should be careful about, and we are going to enforce that by restricting how these drugs actually get into the country. They are going to restrict the importing of these drugs as well -- Paula.

ZAHN: So, Sanjay, I'm a little confused. The list of drugs you just showed are drugs that you could buy online without a prescription, and normally you would need a prescription to get them?

GUPTA: That's right. Most of these drugs are all prescription drugs. What a lot of these online pharmacies do is sort interesting. They have you fill out a very simple questionnaire basically, just some basic biodata about yourself, and then provide a prescription for you from a doctor who reviews that biodata and provides a prescription, then you get the medication online.

You can see that that sounds a little difficult, no question. What doctors usually recommend is they give you the prescription. If you want go ahead and to purchase the drugs online with your own doctor's prescription, that's the way the FDA would prefer that you actually do things.

ZAHN: So let's close with some tips for smart shoppers out there who want to continue to buy drugs on the Internet.

GUPTA: Right. And there are some good tips out there. There are some good things to actually be aware of when you are buying some of these drugs. Check with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Web sites should require prescription, not just a prescription they provide for you, but a prescription from your doctor, a doctor who has actually seen you, done appropriate blood tests, and things like that. You should have access to a registered pharmacist. You know, Paula, you get a list of side effects, things to be concerned about if you are taking these medications. You should still get the list, and those are some of the things that you should sort of be aware about before buying drugs online. Again, these are very popular. Some of them are very legitimate. Some of them provide a really good service, again, for people who live in remote areas, can't always get to the pharmacy, but be careful about some of those things, as well as some of those drugs.

ZAHN: Can I do a final little editorializing in some of the drugs you are giving in the hospital?

GUPTA: Yes, please, Paula, I want to hear this.

ZAHN: I don't how people become addicted to them. because they make you feel awful, whether it's Vicadin or Percocet, or any of the other stuff you are given after...

GUPTA: Nausea, sleepiness, forgetfulness, yes.

ZAHN: Yes, it's horrible. But is it true that when people aren't sick they have a different reaction than people who are hospitalized taking these drugs.

GUPTA: I think some of the medications you are listing still cause extreme nausea, but for people, as you and I have talked about, can get an extreme high from some of the medications, and that's why some of these medications are actually sold on the black market, some of the medications you were just listing can go to several dollars a pop on the street.

ZAHN: Never got that high, Sanjay, just the blues from all that junk.

(CROSSTALK)

ZAHN: Thank you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Trouble>