It has been a sad little day.
Don't you hate it when you show up at work to find that your regular work-buddy isn't there? I mightn't have realised it but I prepare myself not only for work itself but also for who I'm working with. When it's Jim-or-John-day I'd make sure purpleberry is clean, arrive on-time if not early, have breakfast as there will be no random ducking-out for fruit salad, etc. So when I rocked up to Kirribilli this morning, 10-mintues late, donning 1.5-day-old hair and thongs, I was more than a little shocked to find Sally instead of Eugene. Thankfully I had breakfast.
On the bright side I suppose I'd be engaging in somewhat intellectual conversation for once. One that doesn't involve me explaining to Eugene why fish-and-chips is bad. Okay fine, I have to give him credit for his little relationship pep-talk last week, but I'm still laughing to myself about the fact that he somehow managed to dislocate his 26-year-old hip at the gym so I'm not really thinking about anything else.
Anyway, Sally gave me a little piece of information from Martindale that I found both useful for my report and quite shocking in terms of everyday practice. What did I find out, you ask?
Well, it turns out that over-the-counter preparations containing codeine and paracetamol are not more effective analgesics than paracetamol alone.
From the look on your face I guess you're just as appalled as I am.
Okay, so if you don't work in or frequent a pharmacy, I might as well have told you that Froot Loops aren't perfectly round. However, if you, like me, have seen the number of Nurofen Plus tablets people shove down their throats everyday, you might appreciate the significance of it all.
The advertising capacity of Nurofen Plus is crazy. They've gone from TV to street posters to giant display packs in pharmacy windows to stationary. A girl in my pharm-prac tute has a pack of Nurofen Plus post-its.
On top of that they've somehow managed to manipulate pharmacies and supermarkets to advertise them on special. There's something very wrong about opioid painkillers being advertised in the same specials catalogue as lamb cutlets.
Here's the difference: you probably don't need that pack of Tim Tams, but look, it's on special for $3 for two. Why not. You take it home, nomnom your heart out, feel guilty and go for a jog, the end.
Now the other advertised product: you probably don't need any Nurofen Plus, but look, it's on special for $4.95 for a pack of 20. Why not. You take it home. Knocking elbow on the bedside table: 2 tablets. Mild headache: 2 tablets. Period pain: 2 tablets. Sore back: 2 tablets. The check-out girl didn't tell you that ibuprofen is best taken with food, so a few months later when you're at the doctor's with a peptic ulcer you're surprised that supermarket painkillers could do that to you.
Inappropriate advertising is nudging people to buy medication they don't need, and the fact that these medications are available out of earshot of any health care professionals means that they're likely to be misused. And the bottom line is - Nurofen Plus is being advertised as a strong analgesic. People are drawn to the inclusion of codeine, not knowing that it only negligibly increases analgesia, if at all, and in the process misuse ibuprofen.
This probably explains the fact that we found little difference in analgesic activity in paracetamol and paracetamol with codeine. On the other hand, I probably shouldn't try to use our prac to make any points given that Mylinh was convinced that she had become super-woman after taking her drug, which unknown to her was the placebo.
People do claim that Nurofen Plus is more effective. But then again they also claim that Mintec is effective. And find that supplements have worked wonders when they haven't been on them nearly long enough for any effects to be exerted yet.
For its false advertising, Nurofen Plus could face rescheduling into S4. I think moving it up to Pharmacy Only or S3 would also suffice, but best be safe than sorry, because I know for a fact that a certain pharmacy allows their high-school dropout assistants to hand out Pharmacist Only medications with no questions asked ...
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2 comments:
In terms of effectiveness, individual physiology would come into effect, so certain things might be more effective for some while not as effective for others. Granted, it's unlikely that Mylinh somehow metabolised sugar (or whatever your placebo was) into codeine, but hey, you catch my drift.
The problem with making Nurofen Plus S3 is that it's going to piss off a lot of people who hurt themselves and genuinely need Nurofen but don't have any.
Ideally the solution is to disallow Nurofen Plus in Children and watch the stupid people remove themselves from society. Firstly, it boosts the pharmaceutical industry's revenues (of which I mayhaps will be a part in the future) and secondly it removes stupid people from society. Winnar!
I do think it's a tad irresponsible for pharmaceutical companies to knowingly promote a product that isn't half as effective as they say it is to no end.
But then again if the consumers are falling for it, they probably deserve to be lied to. Even if the effect is psychological I suppose they'll still need the label to induce the erm ... psychosis.
It's like phenylephrine though. I have a hard time recommending it to patients complaining of nasal congestion because I know it won't do much. Now I can't do Nurofen Plus either.
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