News

European Commission introduces logo to help protect people from fake medicines online

A new logo to help people identify authorised and legal online pharmacies has been launched.


A new logo to help people identify authorised and legal online pharmacies has been launched.

This is part of a European Commission bid to protect people from the growing number of falsified medicines that are available. Falsified medicines are fakes that are sold as genuine. They may not work, or could even be harmful when used.

Under the new regulations, the logo will appear on the websites of authorised online pharmacies in the EU. It will also link to the relevant national regulatory organisation’s website, which will list all legally operating online pharmacies. Member States have a year from July 2014 to begin using the logo.   

Tonio Borg, the European Commissioner for Health, said of the scheme: “When buying medicines online, consumers must be aware that unless they buy from legally-operating online medicine suppliers, they run a risk of buying medicines that are falsified. The Commission has established a common logo for online pharmacies so consumers can stay safe”.

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