HC Deb 09 December 1983 vol 50 c290W
Sir Dudley Smith

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to protect the public where prescribed pharmaceutical products are imported into the United Kingdom by pharmaceutical distributors and chemists and have patient instructions and safety warnings printed on them in a foreign language.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

The Medicines (Labelling) Regulations 1976, as amended, require that, apart from numerals and certain names, all the particulars required by the regulations to appear on any label or package of a licensed medicinal product or in an accompanying leaflet shall be given in the English language; in addition the particulars may be given in one or more other languages. These requirements will also apply to parallel imports licensed under the proposals I announced in the House yesterday—[Vol. 50, c.477–79.]