{"id":74468,"date":"2016-09-26T14:08:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T14:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=d5f6f39a34ef6a40d7225abc3a7c252b"},"modified":"2016-09-26T14:08:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-26T14:08:00","slug":"press-release-freshers-warned-to-be-smart-and-avoid-modafinil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=74468","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Freshers warned to be smart and avoid Modafinil"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Freshers and university students are being warned of the possible dangers to their health from taking powerful prescription medicines to get higher marks as a new university year begins.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes as concerning Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA<\/abbr>) research showed 14% of those sampled were likely to buy so-called \u2018smart drugs\u2019 within the next year.<\/p>\n

The misuse of prescription only medicines such as Modafinil and Ritalin remains prevalent despite repeated warnings against self-medication.<\/p>\n

Possible side effects of using \u2018cognitive enhancers\u2019 include risk of dependence, cardiovascular problems and psychosis.<\/p>\n

It is a criminal offence to supply prescription only medicines without a valid prescription.<\/p>\n

MHRA<\/abbr> has recently launched the FakeMeds campaign aimed at young adults and highlighting the pitfalls of buying medicines online.<\/p>\n

So far this year nearly 5,000 websites selling fake or unlicensed medicines have been shut down as the MHRA<\/abbr> strives to protect people\u2019s health.<\/p>\n

During Operation Pangea, an international week of action tackling the online sale of counterfeit and illicit medicines and medical devices, we seized more than 31000 doses of narcolepsy medication.<\/p>\n

MHRA<\/abbr> Senior Policy Manager Lynda Scammell said: \u201cYou may be offered \u2018smart drugs\u2019 or \u2018cognitive enhancers\u2019 at university \u2013 some of them may be potent medicines which should only be prescribed by a doctor.<\/p>\n

\u201cModafinil is licensed for specific medical conditions \u2013 not for use as a \u2018boost\u2019 during exams. Don\u2019t put your health at risk by self-medication – it could have serious side effects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a criminal offence to supply prescription only medicines without a valid prescription – websites offering them are acting illegally.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe smart \u2013 don\u2019t put your health at risk by buying medicines online and don\u2019t give your student loan to a criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit www.gov.uk\/fakemeds<\/a> for tips on buying medicines safely online and how to avoid unscrupulous sites.<\/p>\n

Ends<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

Notes to Editor<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The public are advised that they should take prescription-only medicines after an appropriate consultation with their GP. Only healthcare professionals can take into account risks and benefits associated with every medicine<\/li>\n
  2. \nMHRA<\/abbr> Falsified Meds research from 2016<\/li>\n
  3. To report a counterfeit medicine or device contact MHRA<\/abbr>\u2019s dedicated 24-hour hotline on 020 3080 6701, or email counterfeit@mhra.gsi.gov.uk, or write to: Counterfeits, The Intelligence Unit, MHRA<\/abbr>, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, London, SW1W 9SZ.<\/li>\n
  4. To report a suspected side effect from an unlicensed medicine visit the Yellow Card Scheme website<\/a>\n<\/li>\n
  5. \nFakeMeds campaign<\/a>. Follow #FakeMeds on Twitter<\/li>\n
  6. \nMHRA<\/abbr> is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK. All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgments to ensure that the benefits justify any risks. MHRA<\/abbr> is a centre of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency which also includes the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC)<\/a> and the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD)<\/a>. The Agency is an executive agency of the Department of Health. www.mhra.gov.uk<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n
    \n

    Media enquiries<\/h3>\n
    \n

    \nNews centre<\/span>
    \nMHRA<\/abbr>
    \n
    \n151 Buckingham Palace Road
    \n
    \nVictoria<\/span>
    \nLondon<\/span>
    \nSW1W 9SZ<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

    \n

    \n Email<\/span>
    \n     newscentre@mhra.gsi.gov.uk<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

    \n During office hours:<\/span>
    \n 020 3080 7651 (08:30 – 17:00)\n <\/p>\n

    \n Out of office hours:<\/span>
    \n 07770 446 189 (17:00 – 08:30)\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm. For real-time updates including the latest press releases and news statements, see our Twitter channel at https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/mhrapress<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    MHRA highlight the pitfalls of buying medicines online to students<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74468"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74472,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74468\/revisions\/74472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}