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Matt Hanbad said that opioid-containing medications will have to indicate it clearly on the front of their package, along with a warning about their addictive nature.
All opioid medications will need to carry leading warnings about the risk of addiction, said Health and Social Services Secretary Matt Hanbad.
The decision follows initial recommendations by the Commission of Human Medicines (CHM) 's British Expert Working Group on Opioids, which undertakes an extensive independent scientific review of all available evidence regarding the use of opioids in the UK .
The CHM indicated that the warning on the label should be prominently displayed on the front of the drug package and should state "may be addictive" and "contains opioids".
The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has indicated that it will require the industry to comply voluntarily and that, if necessary, the changes would be mandatory.
It was said that it was expected that patients would begin to see the packages containing the warnings on the product labels by the end of 2019.
"This is an important first step in helping to reduce the risk of opioid addiction, while helping patients get the right information at the right time to support their care," said June Raine, MHRA's director of vigilance and risk management of drug division.
Roger Knaggs, an badociate professor in clinical pharmacy practice at the University of Nottingham and a pharmacist specializing in pain management, said that in principle, it seemed sensible to draw attention to the dependence potential of all opioid drugs.
"This proposal is in line with the additional warnings on [over-the-counter] medicines containing codeine and dihydrocodeine that have been needed for several years, "he added.
But he said it was essential that prescribers and pharmacists regularly discuss the benefits and harms badociated with opioid drugs.
"Although opioids are effective against acute pain after trauma or surgery and at the end of life, they should only be continued in the longer term when they provide sufficient pain relief to allow a person to be more active.
Andrew Green, head of clinics and ordinances of the British Medical Association (BMA) General Practitioners Committee, said: "Clearer labeling of drug content and explicit warnings about dependency risks are a step in the right direction. good direction.
"In recent years, the BMA has made a number of concrete recommendations aimed at reducing the harm caused by drug abuse, including the creation of a dedicated national helpline and the increase in the provision of specialized help to the influence of dependency.
"We continue to press for these solutions as part of the ongoing review of Public Health England and hope that they will be brought forward later in the year."
Quote: The pharmaceutical journal, online, online |
DOI: 10.1211 / PJ.2019.20206486
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