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Fraudsters are cheating the NHS swine flu website to obtain Tamiflu to sell at car boot sales, it was claimed today.
The Department of Health is investigating after the claims came to light on BBC Radio2's Jeremy Vine show.
A caller from East Sussex boasted that he obtained batches of the drug by submitting applications to the website with false identities. The caller, who called himself Luke, said he was selling the medication at car boot sales.
The National Pandemic Flu Service's website asks people to enter details of their symptoms then gives them a code to use as a prescription for Tamiflu.
Vine, who also presents BBC1's Panorama, described the situation as "unbelievable". He had asked listeners whether it was too easy to obtain Tamiflu through the website. Other callers said they obtained the drug by lying about their symptoms.
Reader views (9)
Given the cost of Prescription Charges Tamiflu may be being sold at car boot sales at a price not to be sneezed at..
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
who in the right mind would buy medicine at a car boot??
- Michelle Depledge, broughton
Make it illegal for anyone except a pharmacy to sell this drug and arrest all others and confiscate their supply.
- Vince, London, West London
Wherever there is a coin to be turned, there will always be some element of the underbelly of society ready to exploit it.
- Jock, London
Amazing what you can buy at car boot sales.
- Reuben Camara, Republic of Morecambe, UK
I'll be most surprised if what the scum are peddling is actually Tamiflu. Much more likely, fake meds. Hopefully something harmless inside like chalk, although actively toxic fake meds are not unknown. Don't waste your money.
Frankly, if you are a healthy person who gets swine flu, you don't need Tamiflu at all. It has unpleasant side-effects (nausea especially), and it's not been tested on a mass scale until now ... meaning that they don't actually know which is the worse risk, flu or Tamiflu. (Both risks are known to be very small). NB do take it if you are in a flu at-risk group, or if this flu mutates into anything worse.
As someone not at-risk, I'll probably give Tamiflu and its side-effects a miss and deal with the flu the old-fashioned way (bed, paracetamol and ibuprofen).
- Nigel, London
I can't believe there are no checks of identity. People should have to supply something like a passport number. Plus you also need a system which can double check to ensure no duplication.
As for car boot sales, these need to be policed and ordinary members of the public need to report these low life profiteers.
- Chrissy, Halifax UK
Are we sure the fraudsters are selling genuine Tamiflu? I have read that there are counterfeit medicines looking just like the real thing, originating from overseas, which contain very dubious ingredients. What sane person would buy medication at a car boot sale anyway?
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands
So the implication is that the NHS has somehow done something wrong when it is in fact the crooked low life scum selling at the car boot sales who are in the wrong?
- Adrian, Surrey
