It is always smart to buy Viagra (sildenafil) online or offline through a regulated source that asks you to provide your doctor’s prescription. You are putting your health at risk if you buy the blue pills from an unregulated source that offers you the drug without a prescription.
Numerous unregulated online pharmacies are selling fake Viagra pills, which often operate to grab your attention and cash, according to AARP (American Association of Retired Persons).
AARP is the nation’s leading organization for people aged 50 and above, providing member benefits, marketing services, and lobbying on their behalf.
It says Viagra, which is no longer advertised on TV, is a prescription-only drug for men with erectile dysfunction (ED).
Viatris, which was formed as a result of the spin-off by Pfizer, is the marketer of Viagra. It says the blue pill has the distinction of being one of the most counterfeited drugs in the world.
More than 650 websites sell Viagra or Generic Viagra, which are not regulated and are “not recommended” by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP).
Lemrey “Al” Carter, NABP Executive Director/Secretary, says people should avoid such websites at all costs.
He says counterfeit online pharmacies “lure patients to the internet to seek lower-cost alternatives and put the patient’s health and safety at risk.”
A Viatris spokesperson said patients are encouraged to purchase the brand Viagra or a generic version of Viagra with a valid prescription only from a regulated online pharmacy.
Fake pills may cause serious health issues and even death, according to Eli Lilly and Co., which develops another popular ED drug called Cialis (tadalafil).
In the United States, the sale of fake Viagra and Cialis pills has been raging for years, flooding the market and putting people’s health at risk.
Lately, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have seized millions of fake Viagra pills brought from foreign sources.
In February 2021, the CBP seized more than 3,000 Viagra pills from a passenger at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. A month before, the agency seized more than 10,000 fake Viagra pills in two different shipments destined to a person in Brooklyn, New York.
John Leonard, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Trade at CBP, told AARP that the Viagra and Cialis are often seized at entry ports, calling them the “big ones.”
AARP has been receiving called through its Fraud Watch Network Helpline, 877-908-3360, from consumers who thought they were buying sexual enhancement pills or supplements and were defrauded. The article originally appeared on AARP.
