There has been a decrease in the number of illegal medicines seized by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).

During 2018, its enforcement section detained some 619,213 dosage units - this included tablets, capsules and vials of falsified and other illegal medicines.

This was compared to 948,915 dosage units that were seized in 2017.

The illegal products included sedatives (36%), erectile dysfunction medicines (18%) and anabolic steroids (16%).

The HPRA has said that while falsified medicines can be presented as legitimate, there are no guarantees around the safety, quality or effectiveness of prescription medicines bought outside of the regulated pharmacy setting or via the internet.

Last year there was a small decrease in sedative detentions - with 220,457 units seized as against 222,470 in 2017 and 271,545 in 2016.

Anabolic steroids remain significant, with 98,055 units detained in 2018.

This compares to 449,411 in 2017 and 109,006 units for 2016.

Source: HPRA

Ten prosecution cases were also initiated and a further 14 voluntary formal cautions were issued during the year.

John Lynch is the director of compliance at the HPRA: "We remain concerned that members of the public are continuing to put their health at significant risk by buying medicines from unverified and unregulated sources.

"Analysis of the figures shows that there is a continuing and worrying trend of consumers in Ireland seeking to source illegal prescription medicines.

"While we welcome a decrease in the total number of dosage units detained in 2018, over the past five year period more than 4.1 million units of illegal prescription medicines have been detained by the HPRA.

"Every single one of these tablets, capsules and vials intercepted is important and is one less illegal medicine that could cause harm."

Mr Lynch added that the number of illegal anabolic steroids being detained is unacceptably high.

"This indicates a continued demand among some people for these highly potent prescription medicines despite the fact that their sale and supply to the public outside of a registered pharmacy is illegal.

"Our recent research shows almost half of Irish adults are unaware of the many serious side effects caused by anabolic steroid use.

"We believe people are sourcing these products for purposes of performance enhancement, but the risk of side effects such as heart failure, liver and kidney damage is real and should not be ignored.

"As always, we urge people to seek advice from their healthcare professional if they have any concerns about their health or believe they are feeling unwell due to taking an unauthorised or illegally supplied product".

The public can report suspicious activities around the supply of medicines and other health products to the HPRA in confidence at reportacase@hpra.ie or 01-6343-436