The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7451 p569
12 May 2007

Society summary

An occasional feature, prepared in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Professional Standards Directorate, to highlight problems and inquiries currently being handled

Law and Ethics Bulletin, 2001 to present

Child-resistant packaging

Pharmacists are reminded that reclosable child-resistant packaging must be treated as a complete system. If an item is not dispensed in the manufacturer's original pack the pharmacist should ensure that the closure is suitable for use with the container body and that the reclosable child-resistant packaging has been tested and complies with the relevant British Standard.

Pharmacists should also take steps to satisfy themselves that any child-resistant closures purchased have been tested for child resistance according to the British Standard, and that they only use the specific container bodies tested with the closures.

If an item is not dispensed in the manufacturer’s original pack, child-resistant packaging appropriate for the medicine being supplied should be used.

Further information The Society’s Code of Ethics (PDF 260K) outlines the professional requirements for the use of child-resistant packaging. The code requires that all solid dose and all oral and external liquid preparations must be dispensed in reclosable child resistant containers unless one of the five exemptions applies. See ‘Medicines, ethics and practice: a guide for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians’ (30th edition, July 2006).

The Medicines (Child Safety) Regulations 2003 set out legal requirements relating to the packaging of medicinal products consisting of or containing aspirin, paracetamol or more than 24mg of elemental iron.

Further information about suppliers of child-resistant containers and closures is available through the technical information services page in the advisory services section of the Society’s website or by contacting the Practice Division (e-mail practice@rpsgb.org).