Eighty percent of U.S. adults favor allowing importation of prescription drugs, according to Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll…Many feel banning of drug importation is intended to protect pharmaceutical company profits

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recent Wall  Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll, four out of five (80%) U.S. adults indicate that they favor allowing people to import prescription drugs from Canada and other countries if they are much less expensive. A vast majority (84%) of the public strongly or somewhat agrees that the law banning pharmaceutical imports is intended to protect drug ompanies' profits, while only thirty-six percent say this law helps protect Americans from potentially harmful drugs.

These are some of the results of an online survey of 2,295 U.S. adults conducted by Harris Interactive(R) between August 23 and 25, 2006 for The Wall Street Journal Online's Health Industry Edition (http://www.wsj.com/health).

While some pharmaceutical companies want to make it impossible for Canadian  pharmacies to sell drugs over the Internet, a majority of adults (72%) state that this policy is very or somewhat unreasonable.

Additionally, 83 percent agree that it should be legal to import drugs from Canada that are approved and vetted by Health Canada, Canada's equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since last year, Customs has been confiscating packages mailed to U.S. consumers by Canadian pharmacies, with 37,154 packages seized as of July 2006. A majority (77%) agrees that confiscating drugs at the Canadian border jeopardizes the health of some Americans, and very few (6%) feel that those who regularly order pharmaceuticals from Canada should be fined or arrested.

Interestingly, only one out of ten (11%) adults say they have bought prescription drugs from a pharmacy in Canada or another foreign country (either by going there, on the Internet, or by mail) in order to save money, but that percentage has doubled since 2002. Adults living in the West (16%) are more likely to indicate that they have bought prescription drugs from a pharmacy in Canada or another foreign country, as compared those living in the South (11%), East (8%) or Midwest (8%). Hispanics (23%) are more likely to say they have purchased prescription drugs from a pharmacy in another country, as compared to Whites (11%) and Blacks (2%).

             

                        MOST URGENT HEALTH CARE ISSUE

"Which one of the following do you think is the most urgent health care issue which needs to be addressed in the next four years?

Issue	Percentage 2004	Percentage 2006
Reducing the number of people without health insurance	39	44
Reducing the cost of prescription drugs	39	36
Improving the quality of medical care	17	13
Not Sure	5	7

          FAVOR/OPPOSE ALLOWING IMPORTATION OF LESS EXPENSIVE DRUGS

 "Do you favor or oppose allowing people to import prescription drugs from Canada and other countries if they are much less expensive there?"

	2004 Percentage	2006 Percentage
Favor	84	80
Oppose	7	7
Not Sure	10	14

                  EVER BOUGHT DRUGS FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY

    "Have you ever bought prescription drugs from a pharmacy in Canada or another foreign country -- by going there, on the Internet, or by mail -- to save money?"

Have Bought	Percentage
November 2002	5
September 2003	7
August 2006	11

    EVER BOUGHT DRUGS FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY -- BY REGION AND RACE "Have you ever bought prescription drugs from a pharmacy in Canada or another   foreign country -- by going there, on the Internet, or by mail -- to save money?"

By Region	Yes Percentage	No Percentage
East	11	89
Midwest	8	92
South	11	89
West	16	84
By Race, Ethnicity
White	11	89
Black	2	98
Hispanic	23	77

       PROHIBITING CANADIAN PHARMACIES FROM SELLING DRUGS TO AMERICANS    "Some pharmaceutical companies want to make it impossible for Canadian pharmacies to sell drugs over the Internet so that Americans will have to buy all their drugs at higher U.S. prices. Do you think this policy of pharmaceutical companies ... ?"

	2003 Percentage	2006 Percentage
Reasonable	16	19
Very Reasonable	7	8
Somewhat Reasonable	8	11
Unreasonable	77	72
Somewhat Unreasonable	22	20
Very Unreasonable	55	51
Not Sure	7	9

 

    PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE PROHIBITION ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG IMPORTATION

"Since last year Customs has been systematically confiscating packages mailed to U.S. consumers by Canadian pharmacies. The number of seized packages had reached 37,154 by July of this year. How do you feel about the following statements?

Statement	Strongly/Somewhat Agree	Strongly Agree	Somewhat Agree	Strongly/Somewhat Disagree	Somewhat Disagree	Strongly Disagree	Not Sure
Those who regularly order pharmaceuticals from Canada should be      fined/arrested.	6	1	5	88	15	73	6
The law banning pharmaceutical imports from Canada and other countries helps protect Americans from potentially harmful drugs.	36	9	27	57	26	30	7
The law banning      pharmaceutical imports from Canada and other countries is intended to protect drug companies' profits.	84	65	18	9	5	4	8
Confiscating drugs at the Canadian  border      jeopardizes the health of some Americans.	77	48	29	15	8	6	8
It should be legal      to import drugs from Canada that are approved and vetted by Health Canada, Canada's equivalent of the FDA.	83	65	19	9	4	5	7