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f I wanted to go grocery shopping I'd go to a grocery store, and for toys I'd o to a toy store, and furniture, a furniture store. And so on. So why would expect to buy drugs anyplace other than a drugstore? But, to boost consumer convenience, officials are considering allowing non-prescription, over-the-counter (OTC), drugs to be sold in the supermarkets. Pharmacists, naturally, are bitterly opposed. 117 part, they dislike the loss; of income that such a change would entail, especially since the OTC trade is a large part of their business; but they are even more concerned about the bad effects it would have on the easy accessibility of drugs. Even under the current, tightly controlled, situation, Korean drug abuse is a growing problem people should not develop the attitude that pills are recreational, like eating candy, or a casual cure-all for every ailment; rather, they need to realize that pharmaceuticals have highly specific purposes and are best dispensed by highly-trained professionals.
Comprehension Questions
What is the difference between OTC and prescription drugs?
Name three groups who would probably benefit if OTC drugs were not
limited to sale in pharmacies? Whose interests would be damaged?
3. What are the dangers of expanding OTC sales?
Discussion Points
Do you think C)TC drugs should be made available in supermarkets?
Do you think pharmacists are more worried about social abuses or their own sales?
If a medicine is made for solving ordinary problems, like a cold or a diet, and does not require a prescription, doesn't this imply that it is at least relatively safe and does not need much policing?
When you buy an OTC drug does the druggist give you detailed information about how to take it, possible side effects, etc.?
Do you think drug makers want to restrict sales to pharmacies only or to expand outlets into supermarkets?
What if more drugs were deprived of their OTC status and reclassified as prescription drugs? Would this alleviate the druggists' concerns?
In many countries the pharmacists are only allowed to fill prescriptions as written by doctors; they cannot dispense medicine under their own discretion. Should we consider this as a solution to the drug problem?
Opinion Samples
If the government let us buy OTC drugs in supermarkets we wouldn't have to make a special, additional, trip to another store. The expanded competition would bring prices down as well, so we would also save money. If drugs had serious bad effects they would not be sold over the counter anyway, and their dosages and purposes are clearly marked on the label; so expert advice is unneeded. The druggists clearly are interested mainly in their bottom line, by maintaining a monopoly on highly profitable products that we all need some time, rather than in helping the people get safer, more convenient, and more affordable health care.
One of the main difficulties is that we all think we "know" what is best for us, including how to fix what ails us. So we are all experts at self-diagnosis and self-prescription. We want an immediate cure, so we take larger and more frequent dosages, rather than following directions carefully. We don't seem worried about, or even interested in, any bad side effects this behavior may cause. And if we gained even greater access to OTC drugs, and if their prices fell accordingly so we could buy more of them, even more indiscriminately, we would run the risk of doing ourselves irreparable harm. Let's leave the system as it is, for our own self-protection.