The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7159 p139-143
4 August 2001

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NPA BOARD: NPA disagrees with P-to-GSL switches / EC recognition / Exclusive marketing

Members of the National Pharmaceutical Association’s board of management have disagreed with the view of the Committee on Safety of Medicines that a number of medicines can safely be sold from supermarkets and other non-pharmacy outlets.

Commenting on the CSM view that cetirizine and loratadine, along with further presentations of aspirin, ibuprofen and paracetamol are safe for general sale, subject to pack size restrictions (PJ, 30 June), the NPA chairman, Gerald Alexander said: “We consider that putting these products on general sale will be at odds with the Government’s policy of promoting safe, effective and responsible self-care.”

Speaking after the July meeting of the NPA management board, Mr Alexander added: “When these products are P products, at least the public is reassured that the pharmacist — a health care expert — can provide them with appropriate advice on choosing and using medicines safely and effectively. If the products are put on general sale then this safety net is lost.” Further, there was no obligation on retailers to limit the number of packs customers could buy so that pack size restrictions were nonsense.

It is the NPA view that a free-for-all policy on medicine sales will inevitably lead to more accidental overdoses and dangerous interactions.

Other matters considered by the NPA board are reported below.

EC recognition NPA support is to be given to the position the Royal Pharmaceutical Society adopts on a proposal to change the way pharmacy qualifications are recognised in Europe. The European Commission proposes to replace automatic professional recognition by member states with a requirement for national registration authorities to evaluate individuals’ qualifications with power to require examinations or periods of supervised practice before registration. Responding to a request for their view from the Department of Health’s chief pharmaceutical officer, Dr Jim Smith, board members decided that they would agree with whatever the Society said.

Exclusive marketing Concern was registered at the exclusive launch of medicines by two manufacturers through Boots The Chemists. Board members said that exclusive deals were not appropriate if consumers were to have easy access to medicines and did not tie in with the government’s desire to improve access to health care.

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