People may not be able to buy illegal items in shops – but they can get them delivered at the click of a button.
Abortion pills, lip fillers, prescription drugs, anabolic steroids and even weapons are just some of potentially deadly items available online.
But consumer expert Dermott Jewell has warned the public against sourcing dangerous items – including medicines – on dodgy websites.
He said: “The key to buying online is buying from a reputable source to which you can return the item, that you know is safe and not counterfeit.
“Still, despite numerous warnings and advice not to purchase medicines online – for example – people still do.
“It’s been proven, time and time again, there are dangerous products for sale.
“There have been too many cases where medicines purchased online have been mislabelled and don’t contain what they are meant to – they pose a health risk and are very dangerous.
“It’s not just medicines either – there are many dangerous items that should be avoided.”
Figures from the Health Products Regulatory Authority have revealed there were 220,457 units of illegal medicines seized last year.
Anabolic steroids in particular remain an area of focus, with the number of units confiscated sitting at 98,055.
Ten prosecution cases were initiated and a further 14 voluntary formal cautions were issued.
HPRA’s John Lynch warned people that they need to realise how dangerous buying drugs, including steroids, can really be.
He said: “We remain concerned members of the public are continuing to put their health at significant risk by buying medicines from unverified and unregulated sources.
“Analysis of the figures shows there is a continuing and worrying trend of consumers in Ireland seeking to source illegal prescription medicines.
“Over the past five-year period more than 4.1million units of illegal prescription medicines have been detained by the HPRA.
“Every single one of these tablets, capsules and vials intercepted is important and is one less illegal medicine that could cause harm.
“Our detentions disrupt the illicit market with the aim of protecting the public from the risks associated with products for which there are no guarantees as to what they contain or under what conditions they have been manufactured.
“We cannot stress how dangerous it is to source prescription medicines from the unregulated market.”
The mail order of prescription drugs is banned in Ireland.
Anabolic steroids are big business online and can be purchased for as little as €40 for a six-week course.
But, as experts warn, their side effects include everything from a permanent loss of libido to liver and heart damage.
HPRA chief Dr Lorraine Nolan said the illegal anabolic steroid market is huge.
She added: “Our research highlights the social pressure on young people to look a certain way.
“Young men are seeking to gain muscle and ‘bulk up’.
“While use of illegal steroids was previously associated with competitive bodybuilding and enhanced sport performance, nowadays usage appears dominated by the desire to have the perceived perfect body image. We are looking to change that attitude and to dispel the myth that non-medical use of these products is safe and that users have nothing to lose by taking them.
“On the contrary, young men have a lot to lose – starting with their health and wellbeing.
“We believe there are no gains from using substances that have been shown to cause a range of physical, psychological and emotional damage when misused.
“The real story is that non-medical use of anabolic steroids can have devastating, long term and life threatening side-effects.”
Weight-loss tablets are another huge seller online that can be potentially fatal.
Even eBay – generally considered a safe internet-based marketplace – sells a range of tablets branded “Very Strong Diet Pills” for as little as €10 a pack.
Meanwhile, lip filler – which should always be administered by a trained professional – is for sale on numerous sites and proves very popular.
People can buy it for as little as €55 – a fraction of what customers would pay to have it done in a salon or by a cosmetic surgeon.
Aesthetic nurse Anne Hegarty from the Dermatology and Aesthetic Nurses Association of Ireland, warned it is very dangerous to administer the fillers on your own.
She said: “If fillers are injected in the wrong place they can cause serious complications including blindness and severe infection or necrosis of tissue.
"Blindness occurs when the hyaluronic acid is mistakenly injected into one of the lip’s many blood vessels, which then becomes blocked.”
In terms of weapons, flick-knives, which are illegal to carry in public in Ireland, can be purchased for as little as €11.
The Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 prohibits the importation of offensive weapons and a penalty of up to seven years in prison can apply.
When it comes to abortion pills, the most recent study carried out found 5,650 women in Ireland ordered abortion tablets from a single online provider between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2015.
