Drugs From Canada: Is it Cheap, Really?

Increased spending on prescription medications is a huge concern for consumers in the United States (US). Due to the increasing burden of medication costs, Americans, especially elderly and the uninsured people avoid taking medications or skip doses. Nonetheless, these drugs are lot cheaper if you buy them in Canada or Mexico. Consequently, a growing number of Americans choose to purchase comparatively inexpensive medications available in these countries.Numerous internet pharmacies have made this buying experience a lot easier for us; consumers can obtain their medications without even traveling across the borders!

In spite the potential costs savings, many concerns restrict drug importation from being a legal practice in the US. These include issues such as safety, efficacy, and therapeutic equivalency of reimported drugs and reduced research and development (R& D) costs recovery, which is required for new drugs. While these drugs might have been manufactured in the US, the storage and packaging conditions in countries where drugs are exported cannot be monitored by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Inappropriate storage conditions while reimporting drugs back to the US may degrade the quality of drugs. The FDA contends that legalizing importation would be an 'open invitation' for counterfeiters to enter the US drug supply chain. Consumer advocacy groups are trying their best to legalize the practice of drug importation. However, opponents continue to argue about safety and legitimacy of these drugs. While safety remains the most important barrier for legalizing importation, this concern does not seem to affect growing number of Americans who are getting their prescriptions filled from Canadian or Mexican pharmacies.

Is importation really a cost beneficial strategy?

According to the FDA estimates, a proposed anti-counterfeiting technology for drug packages to avoid the entry of spurious prescription drugs in the US would cost approximately $2 billion. Based on the estimates by Congressional Budget Office (CBO), enactment of H.R. 2427 that allows reimporting drugs into the US, would reduce total prescription drug spending by only about 1% or $40 billion in next decade.

It is important to consider this issue from the Canadian perspective as well. Many US drug companies have already cut off drug supplies to the Canadian pharmacies that sell prescription drugs to US seniors. This has led to serious drug shortages at these pharmacies. Also, Canada's drug supply is very limited and cannot suffice the need of the whole American population. Considering the lucrative nature of the drug importation business, there is a high possibility that in fulfilling the increased demand of US consumers, Canadian pharmacists might order drugs from other countries such as India, Thailand and Africa where the rate of drug counterfeiting could be higher.

So what's the future?

Prescription drug importation has become a controversial issue in the US, which has resulted in considerable political involvement in this issue. From its inception, the two main objections against importing prescription drugs from Canada have been the safety of these drugs which could jeopardize public health, and that the profits of drug companies which is used for research and development of new drugs would be seriously hurt. Although prescription drug importation seems to be cost beneficial, legalizing the practice might not be a remedy for the soaring drug costs. The problem of high drug costs should be solved using the combination of most safe and appropriate treatment strategies wherever possible. One such strategy may be to promote use of FDA approved generic drugs. According to a new study by the US FDA, Americans who buy drugs in Canada in hopes of saving money could pay significantly more for certain prescription drugs than if they had purchased generic versions of these drugs in the US. The Medicare reform bill for seniors implemented in 2006 may eventually succeed in reducing the influx of imported drugs.

Currently, legalization of drug importation is stuck between the arguments by different groups. These legal issues are always confusing for us as common consumers. We often go for an obvious choice: 'the cheapest', don't we? So, until our government finds the best solution for soaring drug costs, it seems to be impossible to stop frustrated Americans from buying comparatively inexpensive drugs available across the border.