Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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180. To ask the Minister for Health if correspondence has been received from a pharmacist (details supplied) regarding the abuse of codeine products; if he has considered the contents of the correspondence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42490/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that correspondence has been received from the pharmacist referred to and officials in my department are currently reviewing the proposals made therein.

Codeine is a mild to moderate opioid analgesic which, due to its potential for misuse, is a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs legislation.

As an analgesic, codeine is most often used in combination with other analgesics such as parcacetamol or ibuprofen and is currently authorised in Ireland in such non-prescription products for pain relief. These authorised products are available without a prescription through retail pharmacy businesses only. The Pharmacy Act 2007 (No. 20 of 2007) and the Regulation of Retail Pharmacy Businesses Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 488 of 2008) as amended require that all medicines supplied through a pharmacy must be supplied by, or under the personal supervision of, a pharmacist and that all medicines, prescription and non-prescription, supplied must be the subject of appropriate counselling.

In 2010, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), the regulator of pharmacists and retail pharmacy businesses, issued guidance to pharmacists on the safe supply of non-prescription products containing codeine. This guidance was subsequently updated in 2015, 2017, and most recently in April 2019. The guidance covers the requirements set out above and, in addition, contains further restrictions which apply to the supply of codeine-based products.

These restrictions include a requirement that codeine-based products are not available to the public for self-selection and should only be supplied when a pharmacist deems such a supply to be necessary and only when a non-opioid analgesic, e.g. paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen, has not proven sufficient to relieve the patient's sysptoms. The guidance also states that codeine medicines should be used for the shortest time possible and for no longer than three days without medical supervision. Pharmacists must ensure that patients are advised of the importance of adhering to the recommended dosage and duration of use as well as the risks associated with overdose and or/prolonged use. Patients should also be counselled in respect of potential adverse reactions or side effects.

The full guidance document, along with information on current legislative requirements, is available on the PSI website: