보건복지부 영문홈페이지

Household medicines to be available wherever you are even during nights and weekends

-       Medicines for reducing fevers and indigestion will be sold at around 10,000 convenience stores across the nation –

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Rim Chemin) said that some selected items classified as safe household medicines including fever reducing medicine, cold medicine, indigestion medicine, and pain-relievers will be sold at 24-hour convenience stores beginning November 15^th, 2012.

 

The decision is expected to relieve the inconveniences that the public has faced when searching for remedies during nights and holidays.

 

Since the revision of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act laid a legal basis for the sales of household drugs at convenience stores in May, the government has made efforts to achieve the two goals of making public access to medicines easier and enhancing the security of safety.

 

First, they classified 13 items as safe household medicines on July 5^th based on the review results from a committee consisting of medical and pharmaceutical experts, as well as members of civic groups.

* (Item 1 under Amendment 1 of Article 44, the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act) About 20 household medicines  for minor symptoms to be used based on the decisions of the patients will be selected taking into consideration their ingredients, side effects, contents, administration methods , brand awareness, and accessibility.

 

Also, the close cooperation with pharmaceutical industries and convenience store chains has been maintained for the amicable production and distribution of household products, such as units of packaging, changes in content deions and administration instructions, and reasonable standards for wholesale approval.

 

The Korean Pharmaceutical Association was designated on September 21^st as an official education institution to help ensure safe sales of medicines at convenience stores.

- Owners of 24-hour convenience stores were offered a four-hour education program and a chance to register their store to sell medicine at city halls and county offices.

* Number of people who completed the education program: 15,191 persons (66% of the 23,000 nationwide convenience stores)

 

A total of 11 items among the 13 newly classified household medicines will be sold beginning November 15^th.

 

The remaining two items (Tylenol 16mg and Festal Gold) will become available in December due to the re-packaging process and production line modifications, but alternative medicines are expected to minimize any inconveniences.

 

<13 household medicines>

(Fever reducing medicine) Tylenol Tab. 500mg (8 tablets), Tylenol Tab. 160mg (8 tablets)*, Children’s Tylenol Tab. 80mg (10 tablets), Tylenol Suspension (100㎖), and Brufen Syrup for Children (80㎖)

 

(Cold medicine) Pancol A oral solution (30㎖×3 bottles), and Panpyrin T Tab. (3 tablets)

(Indigestion medicine) Bearse Tab. (3 tablets), Dr. Bearse Tab. (3 tablets), Festal Plus Tab. (6 tablets), and Festal Gold Tab. (6 tablets)*

 

(Pain relief pad) Jeil Cool Pap (4 pads), and Sinsin Pas RX (4 pads)

* Festal Gold Tab. and Tylenol 160mg will be available from December, 2012 and February, 2013, respectively.

 

To prevent misuse and overdosing, individuals can only purchase one daily dose of household medicines, and these medicines will not be sold to children under 12 years of age or elementary school students.

 

Also, a summary of instructions such as usage, dosage, effects, and precautions will be printed on product packaging to help customers make safe and informed choices.

 

As of November 15^th, 115,538 convenience stores, about 50% of all 23,000 convenience stores will sell household medicines, and more stores are expected to begin selling these medicines as unregistered stores are scheduled to join.

ㅇ A sticker will be displayed near the entrance of convenience stores showing that they sell household medicines.

ㅇ Seller information and locations are available on the website of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and call center (No. 129).

 

The government has also prepared measures to minimize the inconvenience for residents in rural areas with no 24-hour convenience stores nearby.

ㅇ 1,907 health care centers in rural areas will sell household medicines.

ㅇ For towns and townships that have neither convenience stores nor health care centers with medical staff (nurses, maternity nurses, etc.), 220 non-medical centers have been designated to sell household medicines.

-       The non-medical centers will distribute those drugs for free to solve the inconvenience of residents in isolated areas with the support of pharmaceutical companies.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will use the sales of household drugs at 24-hour convenience stores as an opportunity to strengthen the safety control over medicines.

 

First, a system to stop the sales of dangerous medicines will be enforced at 24-hour convenience stores.

 

A call center (1644-6223) under the Korea Institute of Drug Safety & Risk Management is being operated (November, 2012) for customers to report or consult side effect cases.

 

On-the-spot inspections will be conducted for cases of unauthorized sales, such as the sales of non-selective items at convenience stores.

 

In addition, the government plans to conduct constant surveys for people in rural areas with no convenience stores.