HC Deb 07 March 1985 vol 74 c597W
Sir Dudley Smith

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the 17,000 products listed in the Prescription Pricing Authority's master drug index do not require licences under the Medicines Act.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

Some items included in the Prescription Pricing Authority's master drug index are "borderline" substances which doctors can in certain circumstances prescribe under the NHS even though they are not "medicinal products" under the terms of section 130 of the Medicines Act 1968. The exact number is not readily available and could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.