Health Canada is warning consumers not to buy unauthorized health products from a website selling abortion and emergency contraception products.
A national public advisory update on Tuesday, May 16 states that unauthorized drugs for abortion and emergency contraception were sold illegally on “Dr. Pooja” websites.
These products are "labelled to contain mifepristone and misoprostol (commonly known as the “abortion pill”), and unauthorized emergency contraceptive labelled to contain levonorgestrel (commonly known as the “morning after pill”)," according to the warning.
The seller, "Dr. Pooja," has two websites selling unauthorized prescription drugs for medical abortion and unauthorized over-the-counter drugs for emergency contraception: Dr. Pooja Clinic and Dr. Pooja Cinic Cynaecologist.
But consumers should never purchase products online from unlicensed sellers that claim to "terminate or prevent pregnancy" as they pose serious health risks, warns Health Canada.
As they haven't been approved by Health Canada, unauthorized products haven't been assessed for safety, efficacy, and quality. For example, they may be "ineffective, expired, mislabelled, subject to recalls, or counterfeit versions of authorized products" or they may have "no active ingredients, the wrong ingredients, or dangerous additives such as prescription drugs not listed on the label."
Health Canada says it has told the sellers to stop selling these unauthorized health products online and is working to have the websites removed. It will take additional steps if enforcement is required.
What you should do
Do not purchase or use any of the products from the “Dr. Pooja” websites and be aware of the risks of buying health products online. Only buy prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies.
If you have taken any unauthorized products labelled to contain "mifepristone and misoprostol" from these websites, seek immediate medical attention to receive care.
If you have taken unauthorized products labelled to contain levonorgestrel, speak to your health care professional to receive a proper health assessment.
Return unauthorized drugs to your local pharmacy for proper disposal.
To verify if a product has been authorized by Health Canada, check for an eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN), Natural Product Number (NPN) or Homeopathic Drug Number (DIN-HM).
You can also check whether products have been authorized for sale by searching Health Canada’s Drug Product Database and Licensed Natural Health Product Database.
Report any health product-related side effects or complaints to Health Canada.
