Pseudoephedrine classification OK for pharmacists

Media Release
8 October 2009

Re-classification of pseudoephedrine is business as usual for pharmacists

Following today’s announcement that pseudoephedrine will be reclassified as a prescription-only medicine, the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand shares the Prime Minister’s commitment to the menace of “P” and understands why he has taken these steps. The Guild says that products containing pseudoephedrine are only a small part of what community pharmacists do and that they will continue to provide good healthy advice to patients and exercise vigilance over a wide range of drugs.

“We hope patients will appreciate that pharmacists will no longer be able to provide pseudoephedrine products without a prescription from their doctor,” says Pharmacy Guild Chief Executive, Annabel Young. “We expect that these changes will create a lot of work for pharmacists.

“The government’s decision to make pseudoephedrine prescription-only has not changed its status as an unsubsidised drug. For that reason pharmacists will not be required to stock and/or supply pseudoephedrine even if the patient has a prescription from a doctor.

“The sales of pseudoephedrine have been declining for some time and it is unclear how the market will react to these changes,” says Ms Young. “Some patients have reported that alternative products containing phenylephrine are not as effective a decongestant as pseudoephedrine but there are mixed views on this.”

ENDS

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