Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to regulate the online sale of (a) antibiotics and (b) other medicine.

In the United Kingdom, there are legal controls on the retail sale, supply and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. These apply without distinction to medicines advertised, sold or supplied through the internet.

This means that Prescription Only (POM) and Pharmacy medicines (P) can only be sold or supplied at registered pharmacy premises by, or under the supervision of, a pharmacist. Furthermore, POMs can only be sold or supplied in accordance with a prescription from a doctor, dentist or relevant healthcare professional. POMs cannot be advertised to the general public.

The vast majority of antibiotics are only available as POM for supply only under the supervision of a suitably qualified healthcare professional.

Websites offering to supply POMs without a relevant prescription are in breach of UK legal requirements and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will investigate and take appropriate action including criminal investigation and prosecution.