Study Shows Low Awareness of OTC Drug Effects
The pharmacists' lobby opposed to putting over-the-counter medicines on sale in grocery stores has been given a leg up by a study conducted by the University of Tartu showing Estonians to have little knowledge of possible side-effects to OTC medicines.
Over 90 percent of those polled said using OTC medicines is simple, with 10 percent of respondents considering their use totally risk-free. According to Daisy Volmer, assistant professor of social pharmacy at the university, the results of the study demonstrate a low level of knowledge paired with unproportionally high confidence.
For example, in case of even the best-known OTC pharmaceuticals, respondents often failed to distinguish between brand names and active ingredients, Volmer said. Another problem was low awareness of the multi-ingredient nature of widely-used cold remedies like trademarked "flu infusions".
Maia Gavronski, a GP and lecturer at the university's institute of pharmacology, said many of the respondents habitually used different medicines combined in the ways involving side-effect hazards.
"Anti-inflammatory OTC medicines and painkillers are often used in combination with medication for hypertension and cardiovascular conditions which is liable to cause hazardous side-effects in rhe case of wrong dosaging, she said. Also, various medicines based on organic substances - camomile, hypericum, etc. - are very popular among consumers, which can affect absorbtion of other drugs.
According to Volmer, these findings are proof enough that the state should not put the responsibility for medication-related decisions solely on laymen. "We have examples from Denmark and the UK where making OTC medicines available in grocery stores has caused an increase in the number of poisonings and sale of drugs that have passed expiry date," she said.
The study was based on the responses of 652 people interviewed at pharmacies and medical centers, of whom 85 percent were using some sort of medication at the time. 52 percent reported simultaneous use of prescription and OTC medicines.
Erkki Sivonen