Paracetamol & Aspirin will no longer be over-the-counter drug

France-
After January 15, 2020, aspirin, paracetamol and ibuprofen will no longer be self-service in pharmacies, announced yesterday the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) which intends to limit the risks associated with misuse of these over-the-counter products. From now on, these medicines will be placed behind the counter. People wishing to dispose of them should therefore request them from their pharmacist.

No more aspirin , Doliprane or Advil self-service in pharmacies: even if these widely used drugs are sold without a prescription, it will be mandatory to ask the pharmacist from January 15, to limit the risks misuse.

"  From January 15, 2020, these drugs can no longer be presented in free access in pharmacies " and "  must all be placed behind the counter of the pharmacist, " announced Tuesday the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Pharmaceuticals. health (ANSM). This "  strengthens the pharmacist's advisory role to patients who wish to have it without a prescription, " added the ANSM. After a first opinion to this effect in early October, this final decision was taken after an adversarial procedure with the laboratories concerned. This measure concerns drugs containing paracetamol (Doliprane, Efferalgan, etc.), as well as certain anti-inflammatory drugsnon-steroidal (NSAIDs): those based on ibuprofen (such as Nurofen or Advil) and aspirin.

These drugs are the most used in self-medication as painkillers or against fever in adults and children, according to the ANSM. Until now, they can be sold in direct access , the customer serving himself on the shelves of the pharmacy. However, in reality, many pharmacists have already chosen to place them behind their counter, even before the decision of the ANSM. "  These are widely used drugs, it's good that patients can have access to them, but we have to do everything we can to make sure they are used correctly, " said Dr. Philippe Vella, director of analgesic drugs at AFP. ANSM.

Because misuse involves risks. Taken in too high doses, paracetamol can cause serious liver damage , which may require a transplant or even be fatal. At the end of 2017, a young woman, Naomi Musenga, died after being mocked on the phone by an operator from the Samu of Strasbourg, which had caused a big wave of emotion in France. According to the investigation, this death was "  the consequence of intoxication with paracetamol absorbed by self-medication over several days"

Futura Santé