Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children

Role and Functions: Discussion with Irish Medicines Board

10:35 am

Mr. Pat O'Mahony:

It is a small number but that does not matter in the final analysis. I have been asked that question in the media and so on. We are concerned about everybody in the population. People can be ill-informed. They can consider that this is the right thing to do for themselves at the time. At a certain age they believe they are not vulnerable and that they can deal with these issues themselves. Our job as the regulator is to try to get out as much advice as possible. We have done a good deal in terms of publishing an information leaflet on this area and four, five or six times a year we issue press releases to the effect that these products should not be bought on the Internet because the area is not regulated. We know from our research and sampling that 50% or 60% of it is counterfeit. It has no ingredient or some other ingredient. It is very dangerous and the more we can do to highlight that, the better. It is a very important public health issue.

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