The opposing view on drug re-importation by William Hubbard, associate commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, mentions a patient who was harmed by imported drugs ("Risks are too high", High prescription costs debate, Aug. 23). But how many patients are harmed when they can't afford drugs because of the ban on drug imports?

People of limited means may just skip their medicine if it's too expensive. For many, the choice isn't between imported and domestic drugs, but between imported drugs and no drugs at all.

Ilya Shlyakhter

Cambridge, Mass.