Painaustralia supports continued sale of ibuprofen in supermarkets

 Painaustralia supports the TGA’s interim decision to keep ibuprofen on supermarket shelves.

In our recent Submission to the Department of Health on Scheduling Delegates’ interim decision on ibuprofen and invitation for further comment, we acknowledge that the change in scheduling to Pharmacy only would have a significant impact on consumer choice and accessibilty.

“We believe any change in ibuprofen scheduling would have a significant impact on consumer choice, accessiblity and product cost,” says Painaustralia CEO Carol Bennett.

“This would place greater pressures on people particularly in rural and remote areas, who are currently able to purchase pain relief in supermarkets but also for after hour access.

“Retaining ibuprofen along with paracetamol as off-the-shelf products is in the consumer’s best interest.”

There are no new publicly available safety concerns associated with ibuprofen to treat acute pain, limited reported adverse events, and no evidence of excessive use, purchasing or harm through the continuation of Schedule 2 availability.

Our current ibuprofen scheduling arrangements are in line with other countries including the UK, Canada, the US and New Zealand.

In Painaustralia’s online survey, 7 in 10 consumers supported continued availability of ibuprofen for sale in supermarkets and general retail outlets and 8 in 10 consumers felt they had enough information about the benefits and risks of the drug.

Painaustralia thanks those who provided input into our submission by completing our ibuprofen survey.

Please download our ibuprofen submission