Posted At Yahoo.com

BY : PRNewswire

It's the Holiday Season, a time of good will and concern for others-except in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Customs and Border Department where officials hope to restrict the access of seniors to needed prescriptions from licensed, registered pharmacies outside the U.S.The timing has also drawn suspicion and is viewed by many as an attempt to force America's seniors into enrolling in the poorly received MedicareDrug Card Plan (Part D).

"We are witnessing a shameful attempt by official agencies of the United States government that is nothing less than a life-threatening denial of needed prescription drugs to America's seniors," says Daniel Hines, publisher of http://www.TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com, a leading informational web site for America's seniors. Hines has also been a forceful advocate on behalf of the right of American citizens to be able to have freedom of choice regarding from whom they purchase their prescriptions and has selected http://www.UniversalDrugStore.com as its recommended supplier of choice for seniors.

"We take our responsibilities to seniors very seriously," Hines explains. "There are many outstanding mail order pharmacies in Canada, but our exclusive professional relationship with http://www.UniversalDrugStore.com is based upon an evaluation of its commitment to seniors and willingness to adopt policies that benefit seniors.

In the latest moves, the Department of U.S. Customs and Border Protection has acted apparently in collusion with the FDA to remove some of the criticism of the FDA by selectively seizing prescription drugs and then informing the affected seniors that they have the right to 'appeal' to the FDA to see if the prescription drugs are able to be ordered and received by Americans.

"With this action, the Customs and Border Protection Department has tacitly admitted two things," Hines notes. "First, in certain circumstances, such sales are allowed by U.S. law, and, secondly, that America's seniors have found in such orders relief from the unfair and predatory pricing for prescription drugs within the United States-a situation that not only will not be improved by Part D but will actually provide drug manufacturers with opportunities for even more profits at the expense of those who are most vulnerable-America's seniors."

Hines continues that it is ironic that attempts to portray America's seniors as 'drug smugglers' by the Customs people are an issue of concern when supplies of illegal street drugs flow freely across the country's borders. "The Customs spokesperson claim that their actions protect 'national security', which interestingly coincides with the publication of a new 'novel' that uses as its premise a terrorist link with prescription drugs from Canada- a novel financed by the pharmaceutical industry.

"The fact is that the American public has spoken. It is demanding equitable pricing for prescription drugs, and continues to look to mail order pharmacies manned by health care professionals, licensed and regulated by their governmental agencies, and offering proven, safe, low-cost drugs to meet their health care needs.

"We at http://www.TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com are proud of the contribution we have made to helping seniors have option in the purchase their prescriptions through our relationship with http://www.UniversalDrugStore.com," Hines says.

"This attempt at denying life-sustaining prescription drugs to the American public-especially at the Holiday season-is an especially cruel policy, one that we believe will be doomed to failure as the inherent good will, common-sense and determination of America's seniors and political leadership will once again illustrate the need for access to these important prescriptions.

"It is well-known that the risk of death by heart attacks and other causes increases in the Winter and during the Holiday season," Hines notes. "We call upon Congressmen and Senators to not let this situation stand. It is time to examine the policies of the FDA and Customs and their relationship to large drug companies at whose bequest they act. It is time to allow an up-down vote on providing Americans access to prescription drugs from outside the U.S. And, It is time to look to the contribution of these prescriptions in budget deficit reduction by allowing them to be credited against the Part D expenses.

"The health and well-being of America's seniors cannot be at the mercy of official agencies of the U.S. acting as the serfs of drug companies driven only by their lust for more profits."