WASHINGTON – July 23, 2012
Today, in response to a call from the White House for the private sector to join forces in the fight against the growing problem of illegal online pharmacies, the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP), along side of U.S. government officials from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, announced the roll out of an extensive campaign to help stop illegal online pharmacies. CSIP’s efforts will include working with law enforcement to shut down illegal sites as well as extensive consumer education to help inform consumers about the dangers of unsafe counterfeit or contaminated prescription drugs.
In the 2010 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, Victoria Espinel, U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) began laying the groundwork for this partnership. She stated then, “The U.S. Government applauds efforts by the private sector and will continue to work with these companies and other search engine operators, advertising brokers and payment processors to explore methods to prohibit paid advertising for online illegal pharmaceutical vendors.”
This campaign, launching today, will include a public service announcement, consumer education tools like an online pharmacy checker, robust media outreach and search engine advertising provided by Google and Microsoft. As part of their communications efforts, CSIP also plans to support campaigns from organizations including the the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, and the Partnership at Drugfree.org. Today, CSIP is also announcing that it will be participating in Operation Pangea, an annual international week of action that brings together the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other global health regulators, customs, national police and the private sector to identify and address illegal websites that pose a potential threat to consumers.
“According to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), 96 percent of all online pharmacies are operating illegally, out of compliance with U.S. laws that protect the public health. Most consumers are unaware of this fact and more importantly are unaware of the dangers associated with purchasing these drugs,” said Marjorie Clifton, CSIP executive director. “In an effort to combat this problem, CSIP is creating partnerships between the private and public sectors. Together we are able to create awareness and educate consumers to fight back like never before.”
CSIP is a non-profit organization comprised of corporations that play a vital role in the online ecosystem. The board of directors includes executives from American Express, Discover, eNom, GoDaddy, Google, MasterCard, Microsoft, Neustar, PayPal, Visa and Yahoo!
About CSIP:
The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) is a nonprofit organization that works to combat the problem of illegal online pharmacies through education, enforcement and information sharing. CSIP was chartered in 2011 by 11 of the world’s leading Internet and e-commerce companies to help address the growing problem of consumer access to illegitimate pharmaceutical products on the Internet. Find CSIP online at http://safemedsonline.org, on Twitter at @safemedsonline, on facebook, and on Google+ .