THE internet is a very seductive marketplace at our fingertips as we sit in front of our screens.

We can research everything, including what illness our current symptoms could possibly be and even find “cures” online – probably quite wrongly - that are equally accessible by a simple click.

Unfortunately, that surreal situation may extend to what we actually buy online when it comes to medication. It may not be approved by this country’s official, and rigorous, drugs’ regulatory body or it may simply be inappropriate for use by an individual.

The results of such transactions can be disastrous. That is why the parents of Bolton College student Phillipe Pycroft are now urging people to avoid buying prescription drugs on the internet.

The 18 year-old suffered heart failure after taking a massive dose of propranolol. This is a beta blocker used to treat the symptoms of anxiety, high blood pressure and angina. Phillipe had been prescribed 10mg of the drug by his doctor last October but told friends that it wasn’t working. Later the same month, he ordered 60, 80mg of the tablets from an American website.

He was found collapsed at his Heaton home and attempts to revive him failed. Tests showed he had taken around 50 of the tablets. At the inquest, his parents expressed alarm about the ease with which their son was able to buy the drugs online.

Mr Pycroft stated: “If anyone has got a problem then please go to the pharmacy and doctor first – do not do it off your own bat.”

This tragedy underlines once more not only the importance of only being guided by official medical advice but also how wary we should all be about ordering anything like medication online.

Sadly, it is very easy to sit at your computer or iPad and believe you are in possession of all the relevant facts. But buying medication is not like buying some new trainers or a new phone online; we need expert advice beforehand.

The simple accessibility of purchasing absolutely anything on the internet in 2016 is quite frightening and this message needs underlining for everyone, but especially young people.

Many people order slimming drugs online, probably believing that these are tested and approved in the way that we understand them to be in the UK. Unfortunately, this is not always the case either and we are playing Russian roulette with our health.