US 'notorious markets' report warns of risks from online pharmacies

FILE - Workers prepare to destroy more than 50 tons of confiscated fake medicine during a campaign to mark World Consumer Rights Day in Beijing, March 15, 2012.

Nearly all of the world's 35,000 online pharmacies are being run illegally and consumers who use them risk getting ineffective or dangerous drugs, according to the U.S. Trade Representative's annual report on "notorious markets." The report also singled out 19 countries over concerns about counterfeit or pirated products.