Fa. Anton SchleckerEhingen, Germany

New Law Takes Aims at Illegal Online Pharmacies - The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act requires patients who buy drugs online to provide proof of an in-person medical evaluation and valid prescription. The bill, named for an 18-year-old who died from an overdose of prescription medication obtained online, also requires Internet pharmacies to register with the FDA, just as traditional pharmacies must. The law is being applauded by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores because it says that these "rogue" websites threaten the health of consumers and tarnish the reputation of legitimate online commerce.

Companies Re-label OTC Meds for Young Children - Makers of OTC cough medicines, a major product on drugstore shelves, have agreed to limit marketing these products to young children. At the urging of the FDA, the industry will also stop making various "infant" products and re-label other products to make it clear they shouldn't be used in young children. The announcement follows an FDA review that shows that most safety problems associated with the products are in young users. The changes affect dozens of brand name and generic products; some 95 million packages of children's OTC cold and cough medicines are sold in the US annually.

Fuel, Food Take Priority Over Meds - US consumers are trying to save money by foregoing prescription drugs, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. The overall decline in prescriptions, according to IMS Health data, is less than 1 percent, but is significant because it's the first downturn after more than a decade of steady increases. From 1997 to 2007, the number of prescriptions filled in the US increased 72 percent to 3.8 billion. Health experts worry that if the trend continues, manageable conditions could escalate into major medical problems, which in turn could raise the nation's collective healthcare bill.