Codeine drug use to face checks by pharmacists

[grace]

CONSUMERS of the popular painkillers Nurofen Plus and Panadeine Plus face counselling by a pharmacist before they can buy the products under new proposals aimed at limiting addiction to, and side-effects from, the drugs.

 

The number of tablets per pack would be limited to five days' supply, more than halving the largest current pack size, under recommendations published yesterday by a government committee.

 

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Australian Self-Medication Industry warned that thousands of people could be inconvenienced, without curbing the abuse problem, if the changes were adopted by the nation's drug watchdog.

 

Many of the analgesics and cold/flu medicines that combine codeine and ibuprofen, paracetamol or aspirin have long been sold from pharmacy shelves without the need to refer to a pharmacist or doctor.

 

Larger doses and pack sizes are already subject to the "pharmacist-only" dispensing rule.

 

The Therapeutic Goods Administration committee will call for public comment on the proposed changes later this month, for review at a June meeting.

 

The TGA was prompted to review access to the medicines after hearing of 77 side-effects where people became addicted to codeine-ibuprofen painkillers, taking an average of 50 tablets a day.

 

One death, seven renal failures, 39 gastrointestinal haemorrhages or perforations and 38 cases of opioid dependence and withdrawal were reported.

 

The Pharmacy Guild's national president, Kos Sclavos, said reducing the pack size did little to stop patients moving from pharmacy to pharmacy to buy the products and thwart the pack-size rule.

 

"If anything, this is a green light to such activity, which is difficult to fathom," he said.

 

ASMI scientific director Deon Schoombie said he feared the Government could overreact to abuses of the medicines by a minority of users.

 

"These medicines play an important role in relieving strong pain and addressing the symptoms of cold and flu, and any move to restrict their availability would be an enormous inconvenience to thousands of responsible users," he said.

 

But the Australian Medical Association's John Gullotta said "pharmacist-only" restrictions on Nurofen Plus and similar painkillers would be far less stringent than some of the alternatives floated last year, which could have seen the drugs subject to the same controls as medicinal cannabis or heroin.

 

"It'd probably be good to get a bit of counselling, and they'd get that in (pharmacist-only scheduling), in theory," Dr Gullotta said.

 

Author: Siobhain Ryan

Date: 9 April 2009

Source: The Australian

Copyright: 2009 News Limited

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...4-23289,00.html

[luciddreaming]

So we can still buy our hundred packs of panadeine right?

This is so pointless. The 'plus' gives you approximately 2 more mg of Codeine compared to the cheaper pharmacy ones.

So which would you buy if you were addicted? The ones with 24 or so in a pack with 2 mg extra Codeine or the 100 pack with 2mg less Codeine per pill?

Fuck me they're dumb.

Anyway, I get pissed off when the pharmacist gives me a 2 minute lecture about how many to take and for how long and what is my problem and if I take any other medications; When I can just read the back of the fucking packet.

So I can see a lot of pharmacists with broken noses trying to counsel people with PAIN. Then maybe the pharmacists will skim some for themselves as well!

Seriously what sort of fucking idiot thought up this plan?

Edited April 9, 2009 by luciddreaming

[MadamePandora]

Sounds ridiculous to me

 

Paracetamol is far more dangerous than the codeine. Paracetamol overdose can shut down the liver, and is too easy to achieve accidentally.

[need4weed3]

fuking stupid or what......

cant remember now what was in them but some time

ago I had to get some medication for my partner

and was asked for photo id... next they will have

you producing id to buy your fuckin groceries

hippies rule.. fuck the establishment

[Tony2224]

Hippies don't rule for one simple fact, have they done anything to get marijuana legalized or did they just sit and bitch about how the laws are ridiculous and they are victims.

[need4weed3]

typical response for some one who has been brainwashed

into believing that they need approval "legalize" to conduct

ones life style.

Alcohol is LEGAL

Tobacco is LEGAL

Both are poisons.

Thing is we don't need someone else to say what we do is ok.

Edited April 10, 2009 by need4weed3

[freddie]

But the Australian Medical Association's John Gullotta said "pharmacist-only" restrictions on Nurofen Plus and similar painkillers would be far less stringent than some of the alternatives floated last year, which could have seen the drugs subject to the same controls as medicinal cannabis or heroin.

Thats a very interesting statement! Medicinal cannabis???? So we have medicinal cannabis in this country?

 

Hippies don't rule for one simple fact, have they done anything to get marijuana legalized or did they just sit and bitch about how the laws are ridiculous and they are victims

Hippies do run a little law reform event called the Nimbin Mardi Grass every year and they also had a political party called HEMP until HoWARd changed the electoral laws.

 

Edit: I just realised after reading another thread that Tony2224 is probably from the US. Maybe your hippies are lazier than ours!

cheers freddie

Edited April 10, 2009 by freddie

[Tony2224]

I am from Canada and i don't understand how you can begin to make assumptions about me because you don't agree with my point. I am not brainwashed into thinking anything, I see the great hypocrisy in the worlds politics involving marijuana and whether or not it is legalized it wont change anything for me except make me happy that the politicians finally did the right thing. if the Hippy movement did not occur around the 60's or whenever it exactly started would politicians have half the negative stereotypes that they have today towards marijuana?

[luciddreaming]

Yes they would. And there would probably also no one around now to say this law is fucked!

They did start this whole thing you know?

 

fuking stupid or what......

cant remember now what was in them but some time

ago I had to get some medication for my partner

and was asked for photo id... next they will have

you producing id to buy your fuckin groceries

hippies rule.. fuck the establishment

That was probably mersyndol yeh? That's shits so good

It's got a muscle relaxant plus codeine I slept the best sleep I've ever had after taking two of those for the first time.

God damn man.

Thing is, only some pharmacies ask for id. The others couldn't give a fuck.

And I think if you say you're buying it for your sister/brother mum whatever they don't ask either.

 

I think if they really want to stop this they need to not have a pharmacy on every street corner.

I mean when I had my some teeth cut out I was in a shitload of pain so to avoid paracetamol fucking my liver I cold extracted it to just get codeine. So I was taking way more then I was 'supposed' to. The lady realised I had just bought a pack the other day so the pharmacist gave me this lecture about it and said he couldn't sell it to me. I'm like "yeh that's cool man" went to the other place 5 mins away and got some

Edited April 11, 2009 by luciddreaming

[Tony2224]

that may be true and I think that what people do down there is great organizing political parties and actually attempting to make a contribution, however I think there are a lot of "hippies" who are responsible for creating a stigma for other weed smokers.