Society

Sales of OTC Drugs


Medicines can be divided into two kinds. One is POM, and the other is OTC. POM need a doctor’s prescription, but OTC drugs can be bought without a doctor’s prescription. A new policy allows the sale of some OTC drugs in supermarkets and convenience stores. It has caused controversy.



Pro


Since July 21, we have been able to buy Bacchus, Gasmyungsoo, and Pas (cooling or heating pad) at supermarkets and convenience stores. It’s because 48 over-the-counter (OTC) medical supplies are available in supermarkets and convenience stores. Many people worry about the new policy, but I think there are many advantages.
First, consumers can buy medicine more easily. You may have an experience that you didn’t have medicine when you were sick because you could not find any open pharmacy on a holiday. The non-pharmacy sales of OTC products can be a solution to this situation.

Second, consumers’ expenses for treatment at hospital can be decreased. People have to go to hospital or an emergency room when they are sick on holidays or at night. However, now, they can choose a convenience store. Furthermore, they can treat an illness on time. In addition, the cost of medicine can be reduced. Big supermarkets can sell medicines more cheaply than pharmacies, so consumers can choose cheaper stores. Because of this change, pharmacies will sell medicines cheaply like supermarkets to not lose their customers.

Many people worry about misusing medicines. However, people have knowledge about the side effects of OTC products because they have taken them many times. When they are sick, they usually check their illness themselves and then they demand a particular medicine at a pharmacy. Furthermore, pharmacists often don’t give any special guidance to take medicine. For this reason, it won’t be too dangerous to sell OTC products at supermarkets. Furthermore, systems like an age limitation or limitation of the quantity of medicine can be a good solution. For instance, there is a system in Japan called a seller registration system which allows experts who have knowledge about medicine to sell OTC products at non-pharmacies. It is a system in which people who are not pharmacists but pass the relevant test and have at least one year real experience can sell medicines. In the United States, they reclassify drugs as prescription drugs if they judge the medicines are dangerous. They supervise them thoroughly. Like those countries, Korea will sell OTC products at supermarkets in a safe way if the government manages OTC products and supervises stores.

A survey about sales of OTC drugs showed over 80% of people want supermarkets to sell OTC products. That means they feel selling OTC drugs at pharmacies only is inconvenient. Now, the non-pharmacy sale of OTC products can make our lives more convenient and healthy.


By Lee Soo-kyung
KMG Reporter
rusia0697@kmu.ac.kr


Con


Recently, the Lee Myung-bak government announced a policy to sell some kinds of medicine in supermarkets and convenience stores. The debate is hot, but I oppose this policy.

First, if people buy medicine in supermarkets or convenience stores, it will cause abuse or misuse of medicine. People should receive medicine from pharmacists, who are experts. According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration, for example, if people take too much medicine which includes ibuprofen like Diffutab and Brufen for suppressing pain, disorders of the liver, difficulty breathing, and convulsions can occur. For this reason, medicine should not be sold outside pharmacies.

Second, general merchants do not have enough knowledge about medicine. The reason why pharmacists exist is to counsel people about medicine. If medicines are sold outside pharmacies, people cannot ask questions about the details of the medicine they buy. For example, pregnant women need to have counseling about medicine to see if it has a bad influence on the fetus, and it is essential that people with allergies have a consultation with a pharmacist. In addition, according to the Korean Pharmaceutical Association’s President Kim Koo, there are fever reducers that should not be taken by children less than 15 years old, and there are tablets that may cause liver damage. Therefore, those who sufferer from headaches because of hangovers should not take the medicine. In these cases, pharmacists are needed.

The Korean Pharmaceutical Association said among household medicines, some medicine should be used carefully like the headache pill Geworin. Furthermore, there are 150 thousand adverse medicine reactions in America because of selling medicine outside the pharmacy. This information was reported by the Korea Economic Daily newspaper.

Rather than selling medicines outside the pharmacy, I think it is better to sell household medicines in a separate window of a hospital emergency room or operate public health centers late at night and on holidays.


By Park Ji-hyun
KMG Reporter
qmsl3500@kmu.ac.kr