Conclusions
T he rise of cyber pharmacies is per haps an inevitable
outcome of the booming e-commerce and the
regulation free environment on the I nternet. [20]
Concerns have been raised regarding the ethical
conduct, quality of service and protective regulations
available, which constitute the essential minimum to
ens ure public from health adversities . The risks
involved are intimately related to the type of
phar macy involved. T here are a number of sites
selling products of dubious quality, advertised with a
mix of unverified claims and professional design. This
includes many labeled as herbal products. Herbal
medications could not possibly be sold profitably on
the I nternet without deception, which includes lack
of full disclosure of relevant facts, promotion or sale
of products that lack a rational use, and/or failure to
provide advice indicating who should not use the
products.[21 ] Only a few researches have been
conducted to analys e the actual menace of cyber
pharmacies , and the results vary considerably. There
is also a need of hard evidence, as research [22] and
s ubmissions to research databas es like E-HARD
(http: //www.cybermedicine.netfirms.com/ehard.html
) and DAERI (http: //www.medcertain.org/daeri)
indicate, based on which future polices can be
for mulated to protect the health of the people. An
intervention at the international level, taking into
consideration the issues of the people involved, is
the need of the hour.
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Competing interests: The author maintains the e-
Health Adversities Research Database [e-HARD]