We need to educate men in the risks of online buying not bully them

Our online drugs survey suggests that most men would be prepared to buy drugs online in the right circumstances..

Of those surveyed, 38% said they would buy online 'in the right circumstances' and a further 23% said maybe they would. Now, this was a self-selected survey so I wouldn't claim it was highly scientific but at the same time there's no reason to doubt the basic finding. Indeed, one in three of the men in our survey had already bought drugs online.

The most popular online purchase among the 200 men surveyed was drugs to help erections (15% had bought them). The second most popular category was weight-loss drugs with 4%.

Clearly there is a big risk to online buying. But it is also clear - and doctors, drug companies and regulatory authorities need to understand this - that a lot of men are happy with it. Seven out of 10 of men who were buying online said they would recommend what they were buying to a friend. It may be illegal, it may be dangerous but for some men it's better than the alternatives - namely, taking nothing or having to talk to a doctor.

The most popular 'right circumstance' was 'if the doctor (or NICE) was unable or unwilling to prescribe something I felt I needed. Other 'right circumstances' included: recommendation from a reputable site or friend, convenience (to avoid having to go the doctors because they are 'only open in the weekdays') and privacy (to avoid it appearing on my medical records as they are 'now open access to the whole surgery')

Given this willingness to buy online, men need to be informed about how the counterfeit drugs trade really works so they can make their own decisions. This is what we're doing right now on malehealth with features including a tour of an internet drugs factory. Once you know what goes on behind the spam, there's only one decision you can make. But it needs to be a decision based on knowledge. Drug companies and doctors take note: threats about law-breaking or an old-fashioned 'just say no' type approach won't do it.