HL Deb 09 December 1996 vol 576 cc74-5WA
The Countess of Mar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What form the monitoring "on an ongoing basis for safety" takes, and whether any post marketing surveillance is conducted, of families who have used malathion shampoos and lotions, to ensure that there are no adverse immune system effects, particularly upon young children.

Baroness Cumberlege

All human medicinal products are kept under surveillance after marketing for safety issues. This includes monitoring of suspected adverse drug reactions submitted voluntarily by doctors, dentists and coroners via the Yellow Card scheme and other sources of information such as published literature, information from other government departments and regulatory authorities abroad. In addition, there is a statutory requirement for companies to submit to the licensing authority adverse drug reaction reports and other information relevant to the safety of their products.

We are not aware of any specific studies of adverse effects of the immune system in families who have used malathion-containing human medicines.