Would you buy a medicine that has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration?  Would you consider taking a foreign medicine that does not contain the same active ingredients that the U.S. medicine contains?  What if you ingested a foreign medicine, were harmed and then found out that you may have no legal recourse because the foreign company that sold you that medicine is not subject to U.S. law? 

American patients would most likely feel compelled to ask themselves these questions if some prescription drug importation proposals now being considered before Congress were to become law. 

In several states, prescription drug importation proposals are also being considered.  In fact, some state legislatures have passed bills requesting the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set-up a safe importation program knowing full well that two former HHS Secretaries have both said that they cannot certify the safety or cost-savings of imported medicines. 

These are just a few of the concerns that patients should be aware of as the importation debate moves forward.