In a national survey, two-thirds of Americans said they favored the practice of purchasing prescription drugs from Canada. Yet attitudes shifted dramatically after they received details about concerns associated with importing medications.

A total of 1,005 American adults were surveyed on whether certain information made them more in favor or more opposed to the practice of importing prescription drugs. 29% of respondents shifted from being in favor to being opposed to buying drugs from Canada. By the end of the study, 58% were opposed to the practice, while only 40% still favored the idea. 84% were "somewhat or much more opposed" to the practice after being told that "the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has testified to Congress about hundreds of seniors' illnesses and deaths caused by individuals taking unsafe, contaminated or fake medications purchased illegally from foreign countries." 82% were more opposed after hearing that "medications ordered over the Internet and imported illegally from Canada include drugs manufactured in countries other than the U.S. or Canada."

The NACDS Foundation (an education and research affiliate of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores) released the survey findings, which indicate that many Americans react in a strongly negative manner when presented with information suggesting that importing drugs into the U.S. is a potential health and safety hazard. NACDS, which represents chain pharmacies, opposes reimportation because they have concerns for public safety and health. "Consumers are ignoring warnings with regard to illegally importing medications from Canada," said NACDS spokesman Crystal Wright.

A number of U.S. politicians and senior advocacy groups encourage Americans to buy drugs in Canada to cut medication costs and say that concerns about the safety of these drugs are vastly overblown. "The key issue here is whether a person is buying from a regulated and licensed pharmacy in the country from which they think they are purchasing," explained Peter Wyckoff, executive director of the Minnesota Senior Federation Metropolitan Region, which offers a drug discount program through a Canadian exporter. Furthermore, Wyckoff said that regulation of Canadian pharmacies is just as good as regulatory oversight of pharmacies in America, a point that he says is backed up by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's own admission.

Most Americans still buy their medications in the U.S. Only 2% of those polled who began the survey favoring the purchase of medications from Canada had actually done so.