French minister rejects liberalisation
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OTC medicines will not be widely available through supermarkets in France, French Minister for Health Agnes Buzyn told an interview broadcast by local radio station RMC. Big supermarket chains were not able to safely support public health when it came to medicines, she stated.
During the interview, in which she discussed a range of public health matters, she ruled out making medicines widely available to purchase in supermarkets, saying it was not possible to complain about the side effects of drugs and at the same time demand that “anything and everything” be made available without the advice of a pharmacist.
Advice important
Buzyn said that good medical advice and information about medicines was a necessity if French consumers were to suffer less side effects from medicines. She added that pharmacists were very well trained, medical professionals that had an important role in public health.