The Chinese has a saying; no one is born with the same fate as others - 同人不同命,同遮(伞)不同柄(手柄). I am definitely curious with things the public could lay their hands on without a prescription especially if it is out of Australia. They turn me on. Why not? It is interesting to have a quick look at how various authorities at different parts of the world assess the risk benefit ratio in a way that contradict each other.
What is considered safe and who gets to have their say on that matter? Why the selected few get to decide whether the rest of the majority layperson has easier access to certain medications and most importantly, how they reach that conclusion. Surely the drug being deregulated still stay the same, only we learn more about it over time.
Simvastatin is reclassified for sale without prescription in UK in 2004 whereas no statin is available OTC in Australia. Not only that, tamsulosin, an alpha1-adrenergic blocker for the treatment of functional symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is available OTC as well. Being a second year student, I do not even have the slightest idea of what BPH is. Azithromycin, a macrolide antibacterial is also available OTC for the treatment of Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Sumatriptan, a specific 5-HT type 1 receptor agonist, is available OTC in UK for the treatment of migraine. The closest thing Australian public could get for migraine is paracetomol along with antiemetic, metoclopramide or ibuprofen lysine – a preparation claimed to have greater water solubility than ibuprofen and thus, provides a more rapid onset of action. Prochlorperazine, recently commercially available OTC as a product is approved as treatment for nausea associated with migraine.
That is just a small portion of differences I discovered yesterday. On a interesting side note, my previous roommate back in Malaysia used to parade his only tablet of Viagra, kept in his wallet in front of everyone. He then will proceed to tell the same old story of people coming in (into the pharmacy) to buy Viagra the “sebiji potong empat” way, the cut that (tablet) into a quarter for me. I don't think one needs a script for that; no one goes to a community pharmacy in Malaysia with a script.
My study buddy thinks that I am a little obsessive about primary care, but I am really just interested in the efficacy, bogus or any medicinal value. Having said that, I might consider the option of co-authoring a book on primary care next time if I have the credibility.
Alan, up for some extra money, buddy?
Alan Nathan, a free-lance writer and pharmacy consultant, pharmacist by training with 25 years of experience as a community (retail) pharmacist and an expert in non-prescription (over-the-counter) medicines.
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