Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (Hansard, 27 February 1984)

§ Mr. Ashley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which have been withdrawn in the last five years; whether it was a company decision or a response to a request from the Committee on Safety of Medicines; and, for each drug, how long it was on the market and what was the approximate number of precriptions dispensed;

(2) how many suspected adverse reactions to non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drugs have been reported (a) under the yellow card system, (b) by companies making the drugs, and (c) from other sources to the Committee on Safety of Medicines since 1964; in how many cases the reaction was a death; and if he will categorise the reports according to the year they were received;

(3) whether the Committee on the Safety of Medicines was sent a copy of Ciba-Geigy's internal assessment of the safety of Butazolidin and Tanderil dated September 1982; when it was sent; and what was the committee's response;

(4) how many non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are currently available to be prescribed; what are their names; and approximately how many prescriptions a year are issued for this category of drug;

(5) pursuant to the reply of 13 December 1983, Official Report, c. 443–4, if he will categorise the 442 and 131 reports associated with products containing phenyl-butazone and oxyphenbutazone, respectively, according to the year the report was received; and whether the source was a general practitioner sending in a yellow card, one of the companies producing the products, or any other source;

(6) pursuant to the reply of 15 February, Official Report, c. 234, from whom the Committee on Safety of Medicines has obtained information to help it with its review of the safety of products containing phenyl-butazone and oxyphenbutazone; if it consulted with drug safety bodies in other countries; and what is the total number of (a) adverse reactions and (b) deaths reported to them from all sources.

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