Web purchase: NDA to set up monitoring body WEDNESDAY, 16 APRIL 2014 15:08 The Director of the National Drugs Authority Dr. Hemantha Benaragama warned Lankans not to purchase medicines, especially drugs that were purported to enhance sexual performance over the internet. He said that he had a meeting Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa regarding the issue and that a unit would be set up in collaboration with the Customs, Interpol and the CID to monitor such activities. “There is a tendency of buying medicines through the internet,” Dr. Benaragama said. According to law, drugs cannot be advertised without the approval of the particular country’s drugs authority but many websites advertise and sell such drugs. “Any kind of medicine should be registered in a country where it is marketed and during the registration process the country’s regulatory authority would evaluate it and see whether the drug was suitable and safe,” he said. “Three parameters are considered when issuing a