Each year, around a million Americans purchase cheap medicines from online Canadian pharmacies to help make ends meet. According to the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA), which surveyed its 14 member pharmacies for the 15 best sellers to US consumers in 2009, most people who turn to Internet drugstores north of the border are buying everyday prescriptions to treat common chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and arthritis.

“This is the mainstay of our business,” says Tim Smith, CIPA's general manager. “The bulk of our patients are people who are living on fixed income; they're concerned about the high cost of drugs, and they have concerns about their ongoing medical conditions.”

Here, in no particular order, are the top selling drugs: