Over the counter medication
June 2005
Parenteral use
The least contentious category might be parenteral use and few would be likely to advocate OTC injectables in the current climate. However, there is an ongoing Prescription only medicine (POM) to Pharmacy medicine (P) consultation for Water for Injection to allow drug misusers to purchase this from accredited needle exchanges and thus reduce the individual and societal harm associated with the injection of drugs. Once such precedents are set, then it would theoretically be easier for other ‘harmless’ injectables to be made available OTC, for selected groups, for example those for use in life-saving circumstances such as adrenaline for anaphylactic shock.