The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) announcement that cold and flu products containing pseudoephedrine / ephedrine will remain available for sale over the counter from pharmacies is an opportunity for pharmacy to demonstrate it can confidently manage supply of these products. This has been welcomed by the national pharmacy bodies including; the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), National Pharmacy Association (NPA), Company Chemists Association (CCA) and the Association of Independent Multiples (AIMp).

Community pharmacy has been given up to two years to demonstrate that sales of pseudoephedrine / ephedrine containing medicines can be properly controlled without the need for reclassification to prescription only status.

The MHRA has decided that the legal status of pseudoephedrine / ephedrine containing products should be reclassified from a Pharmacy (P) Medicine to Prescription Only Medicine (POM) in July 2009, unless the misuse of these medicines in illicit manufacture is contained; or at any time before then should evidence emerge that misuse has not been contained.

Following a 16-week consultation the MHRA agreed that the intelligence picture on these medicines being used in the illicit manufacture of methylamphetamine in the UK is still limited and has advised that tighter pharmacy controls are considered to restrict the potential for widespread misuse.

The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has recommended a limit of one pack per sales transaction. The RPSGB advises that pharmacists should, with immediate effect, ensure that sales are restricted…