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Czech Republic and Online Pharmacies

The Czech Republic has seen many new laws be made over the past few months, and one the main profiteers has been the online pharmacy industry. In June 2006, a new regulation was passed, under which internet shops could sell non-prescription drugs online. Although this is far off from the availabilities in other countries, the industry in the Czech Republic has experienced a massive boom in the number of online pharmacies, and of course, customers.

Since this regulation was passed, an incredible 74 online pharmacies have been established, and proven to be a big success. Selling vitamins and nutritional supplements only, one of the most successful online pharmacies is the "Lekarna.cz", which was founded by entrepreneur Pavel Hrstka. His online pharamacy has been selling cosmetics, simple medical equipment such as bandages, and vitamins, since 1999, and even then they would be selling out thousands of packages each month, as Hrstka boasted. He also explained that he accredits their success to the wide range of choice that the internet allows for. Where regular land-based pharmacies offer about 4,500 products (on average), an online pharmacy can offer approximately five times that amount.

But the Czech Republic laws are still considered to be limiting. According to Veronika Petl?kov?, spokeswoman for S?KL, prescription drugs would probably never be offered online, and even if so, they would only ever be a small amount of simple pain relievers such as Ibuprofen. Lubomir Chudoba, President of the Czech Pharmaceutical Chamber, says that this is a means of ensuring quality, and explained that "the fact that only pharmacy owners can run servers offering nonprescription drugs and that Internet customers can verify whether the online pharmacy has been certified on the Web page of the State Institute for Drug Control (S?KL). It is also a requirement that the product reaches the client in prime condition.?