One in five Irish people are putting themselves at risk by buying prescription-only medicines from illicit sources without prescriptions, a new survey has found.
Some 36 per cent of those buying drugs from illicit sources are making their purchases over the internet.
Others are buying them while overseas on holidays, through friends and even in pubs and nightclubs.
The study of 1,000 Irish people, part of a Europe-wide study by Pfizer, found the main reason people consider going online for medicines is to save time and money.
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Some 5 per cent of people believed a drug purchased without a prescription online was always genuine despite evidence of counterfeiting.