Experts warn against secondhand drug sales on internet

Turkish experts have pointed out the danger of secondhand drug sales on the internet, saying that the sellers of these drugs are committing a crime.

From used creams to red prescription pills (drugs with sedative ingredients), many drugs are being sold in the secondhand market in Turkey on the internet.

Speaking to Hürriyet daily, Turkish Employer Pharmacists Union (TEIS) head Nurten Saydan said that some internet sites allow users to sell medicines unlawfully, which can result in "irreversible" health problems for buyers.

"There is nothing such as ‘secondhand medicine;’ drugs are particularly important products. Selling drugs in such a way has deadly consequences," she said, adding, "Unfortunately, internet sales cannot be prevented."

Saydan noted that drugs are being sold unregulated on online platforms that often sell other products such as clothes, shoes, furniture and food.

“This is harmful in any case, and we even do not know with what they fill the bottles (of medicine),” she said.

Saydan said the law states that all medicines licensed by the Health Ministry should be bought from pharmacies.

Selling the medicines online "is an overt crime," she said. "Medicine is not something you wear, it is a personalized product. After treatment is over, medicine turns into chemical waste."