Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2015 December 15

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December 15

Selling the branded version

Resolved

Is it legal in the UK for a shop (that isn't a pharmacy) to sell the branded version of paracetamol, ibuprofen etc. and not the generic equivalent? I know these sales are regulated by the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 but I can't find the relevant part. Itsmejudith (talk) 10:09, 15 December 2015 (UTC)

I have no knowledge of legality, but surely it is up to the shop to decide what it sells. If it is legal for it to sell a branded drug, presumably it is also legal for it to sell a generic one. Whether it sells none, one, the other, both is surely up to the outlet. -- SGBailey (talk) 10:42, 15 December 2015 (UTC)

It's not unreasonable to suspect that there might be specific rules that apply to the sale of over-the-counter drugs, especially in the light of this recent news story. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 13:17, 15 December 2015 (UTC)

Well there are definitely laws relating to advertising and the information provided with medications both OTC and prescription in most countries, as there are for most products albeit the ones relating to medications are often stricter and more detailed (although in the Australian case I'm not sure whether it really mattered). Most countries also have laws dealing with how, where, to who, perhaps in what quantity etc OTC medications can be sold; relating primarily to perceptions of how to maximise safety and minimise abuse or misuse while not unduly burdening the consumer. Whether any of these laws require that certain medications are both sold in the store, if sold at all, I don't know, but it is fairly different from the most other aspects of law. Nil Einne (talk) 14:57, 15 December 2015 (UTC)

The relevant parts of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 are Regulation 221 [1] and 222 [2] which deal with the sale to consumers of what the law defines as "general sale medicines" (i.e. those which can be sold without a prescription). They make no reference to generic or branded products. The regulations do refer to generic medicines elsewhere, but this is in the context of the law around - for example - obtaining the authorisation to market generic products etc. (Reg 51) or submit periodic safety reports (Reg. 191). Certainly it is quite common for smaller shops to only sell branded painkillers. (I suspect the profit margin is significantly higher for the vendor and/or significant numbers of customers don't want to buy chemically identical generic versions because they have been misled by marketing) Valiantis (talk) 14:54, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Just for clarity, it ought to be noted that the terms "OTC" and "Over the Counter Medicines" are more usually applied to medicines kept behind the counter of a pharmacy and are available only over the counter, with the supervision of the pharmacist but without prescription. Ibuprofen and Paracetamol are General Sales List (GSL) medication and as such are available in front of the counter, not just in pharmacies but also in other retail outlets such as supermarkets.--Ykraps (talk) 16:40, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Apologies. It appears that the terms GSL and OTC are interchangable. At least according to this source [[3]]--Ykraps (talk) 16:43, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, all for your answers. Itsmejudith (talk) 17:20, 18 December 2015 (UTC)