§ Dr. NaysmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the impact of new regulations on aspirin and paracetamol pack sizes; what action he will take to ensure that pharmacists are aware of their discretion to supply up to 100 tablets at a time without a prescription; and if he will make a statement. [66674]
§ Ms JowellThe Medicines Control Agency (MCA) is monitoring the impact of the new regulations on paracetamol and aspirin pack sizes and will review the effectiveness of the measures once sufficient data have been collected.
The pharmacist's discretion to supply up to 100 tablets or capsules at a time without a prescription was publicised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, the professional body for pharmacists, in August 1998 in their publication, the Pharmaceutical Journal. The MCA will be highlighting the availability of this discretion in an article it will shortly be submitting to the Journal on this and other issues relating to the introduction of the new pack sizes.