Pharmacist, Patient Groups Call for Inquest into B.C. Counterfeit-Pills Death
OTTAWA, March 22 /CNW Telbec/ - A coalition of Canadian
pharmacists and patients today called on the Regional Coroner for
Vancouver Island to hold an inquest into the death of a British
Columbia woman who died apparently after taking counterfeit pills
she ordered online from a purported Canadian internet
pharmacy.
The Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), Ontario Pharmacists'
Association (OPA) and Best Medicines Coalition (BMC) made the
request by letter to Rose Stanton, Regional Coroner for Vancouver
Island.
Coroner Stanton reported Tuesday that poisoning appeared to be the
cause of death of 57-year-old Marcia Bergeron, who died December
27th, 2006. The coroner has linked the death to pills Bergeron
purchased from a purported Canadian Internet pharmacy about a month
before she died. Toxicology tests revealed the counterfeit pills
contained dangerously high levels of the heavy metals strontium,
uranium and lead, the coroner said.
"The circumstances of Ms. Bergeron's death are disturbing to
Canadian pharmacists and patients, and an inquest is necessary to
make public all the facts in this case," said CPhA Executive
Director Jeff Poston. "This case reinforces our message that
Canadians should buy their drugs from their community pharmacist,
not from unknown internet sites."
"Under B.C. law, the investigating coroner may hold an inquest as a
formal court proceeding that allows for the public presentation of
all evidence relating to a death. Inquests may be held to focus
community
attention on a death and/or to satisfy the community that the death
of one of its members is not overlooked, concealed or ignored. This
is precisely the type of case that demands an inquest be
held."
"Every Canadian patient is entitled to learn what happened to
Marcia Bergeron," said Louise Binder, chair of the Best Medicines
Coalition. "If Internet pharmacies masquerading as Canadian are
supplying fake drugs to Canadian patients, we need the facts fully
exposed, and those responsible identified and held to account for
their actions."
Said Marc Kealey, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists' Association: "We
have demanded that the federal government crack down on internet
pharmacy and cross-border drug sales, and pointed out the serious
health risks posed by the proliferation of bogus Canadian internet
pharmacies selling counterfeit drugs. An inquest into Ms.
Bergeron's death can alert Canadians to these dangers."
Coroner Stanton expressed concern that more deaths may occur among
patrons of phony Canadian internet pharmacies. "We're often the tip
of the iceberg," she said. "She's not the only one buying pills off
the internet."
Coroner Stanton said most purported Canadian internet pharmacies,
marketed toward bargain-seeking U.S. patients, pretend to be
Canadian when in fact they are located overseas. The sites also
change web addresses frequently, making them difficult to trace,
she said. "They all claim a Canadian legitimacy," she said. "But if
you start looking deeper, you find that neither the company names
or affiliations they mention are actually legitimate."
"Medicines purchased over the Internet from sites that conceal
their actual physical address are counterfeit or substandard in
over 50% of cases," stated the World Health Organization's
International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force in a
November 15, 2006, report.
-30-
/For further information: Canadian Pharmacists Association:
Louise
Crandall, (613) 523-7877; Ontario Pharmacists' Association: Mary
Anne Cedrone,
(416) 441-0788; Best Medicines Coalition, Paulette Eddy, (416)
622-3893/
Posted: March 2007
