§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the over the counter medicinal products sold for babies and children which contain aspirin or aspirin derivatives; and what advice has he received regarding the continued sale of these products;
(2) how significant was the risk factor study regarding Reyes syndrome in the decision of the Committee on Safety of Medicines on the use of children's aspirin; who paid for the study; what was the nature of his 979W Department's involvement; and in what way he intends that his Department should support continuation of the study or work on its implications;
(3) whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines received any representations or communications from the aspirin manufacturers during the period in 1985 when it was considering the relationship between the use of aspirin and Reyes syndrome;
(4) precisely when the Committee on Safety of Medicines first received evidence from the United States that the number of reports of Reyes syndrome had fallen in line with the fall in the use of aspirin; what was the source of the information; who sent it; and what was the response of the Committee.
§ Mrs. CurrieI shall let the right hon. Member have replies as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what references to aspirin are made in Health Education Council literature and what changes have been made following the recommendation that aspirin should not be given to children.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe recommendation that aspirin should not be given to children was announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Mr. Hayhoe) in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 10 June 1986 at columns145–46. The current edition of the Health Education Council booklet, "Minor Illness — How to treat it at home", which refers to the use of soluble aspirin in the treatment of sore throats, colds and sunburn, has been withdrawn so that a clear statement can be included warning of the dangers of giving aspirin to children.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many (a) young persons and (b) adults are known to have suffered from Reyes syndrome.
§ Mrs. CurrieI regret I cannot give the right hon. Member all the information he seeks. A joint study of Reyes syndrome in children commenced in 1981 and is conducted by the British Paediatric Association and the Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre. The available figures are given in the the table.
Reported cases of Reyes Syndrome in the British Isles in children under 16 years of age Year(1 August–31 July) Number 1981–82 42 1982–83 60 1983–84 81 1984–85 50 1985–861 50 1 Provisional.