Well, this little news item should make us all cringe!!!

Apparently there are overseas Internet sites selling COUNTERFEIT contraceptive patches that contain no active ingredients. These fakes, advertised as Ortho-Evra transdermal patches, do not protect you from pregnancy anymore than a regular band aid would!

The sites - including www.usarxstore.com, www.europeanrxpharmacy.com, and www.generic.com - also sell other products that they falsely state are FDA approved.

The false patches arrive in plastic bags without identifying materials, lot numbers, expiration dates, or any other labeling information needed for safe and effective use of the product. Pictures contrasting the real product and the fake ones can be seen at the FDA's site www.fda.gov.

I always promote the smartwomanrx mail order site for the birth control pills levlen, trilevlen, and levlite. This site is real, reputable, well run and credible. Buy drugs via the Internet only if the site bears the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) seal. This seal indicates that the site operates in accordance with the National Boards of Pharmacy standards.

So -- BUYER BEWARE!!! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!!!

Lynne Fiore, NP