[B]Asthma inhalers will go on sale in supermarkets for the first time this month, allowing sufferers to get the medicine without seeing their doctor.
[/B]Asda said it would start selling blue reliever inhalers over the counter without prescription from Tuesday.
Customers over 16 will be able to buy two inhalers for £7.
The Department of Health said that medicines must be dispensed by qualified staff "in line with all legal requirements".
In England such items would incur a charge of £7.65 if obtained on prescription; in the rest of the UK prescription charges no longer apply.
There are two different types of inhalers, "reliever" and "preventer" ones, available to the 5.2 million people in the UK who suffer from asthma
Blue reliever inhalers - the ones Asda will be selling - contain the drug salbutamol and are used if someone is feeling wheezy or suffering an attack.
Preventer inhalers are taken twice daily to help keep asthma under control.
Faisal Tuddy, deputy superintendent pharmacist at Asda, said the service was designed to be easy and convenient but would be closely monitored
"All of our pharmacists have been trained and know they mustn't sell the inhalers without due care," he said.
Dr Samantha Walker, executive director of research and policy at Asthma UK, said the scheme was interesting in principle but she was uncertain how it would work in practice.
She said: "We applaud anything that is going to help asthma suffers but this new service has raised a few questions for us.
"Our main worry is people will overuse their inhalers when they know this service is available. If you use your inhaler too much you may end up in hospital."
Customers will be limited to two inhalers at a time which will have to last them eight weeks.
They will need to fill in a questionnaire about their condition before buying the medication.
Qualified pharmacists and an online doctor service will oversee the sale of the inhalers.
A Department of Health spokesman said: "Medicines should be dispensed by appropriately qualified staff and in line with all legal requirements."
[URL]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18936197[/URL]
This is great for me, to say that's it's now [I]cheaper [/I]and quicker than the NHS
And some faggots will abuse them and they'll be prescription only again.
Albuterol?
Nevermind, they are preventative, Albuterol isn't.
[QUOTE=Delta616;36900692]Albuterol?
Nevermind, they are preventative, Albuterol isn't.[/QUOTE]
They're selling the Salbutamol
[img]http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/dataimages/original/2012/04/images215712_salbutamol.gif[/img]
This is pretty cool
Having to get a prescription every time for some inhalers is a pain in the arse
Good.
[QUOTE=MightyMax;36900689]And some faggots will abuse them and they'll be prescription only again.[/QUOTE]
You'll have to be 18+ to buy it probably, just like other medicine
Took them long enough
I was excited then saw this was in the U.K only
[QUOTE=SmashBrosFan11;36900807]You'll have to be 18+ to buy it probably, just like other medicine[/QUOTE]
Then some highschool kids will buy them, and sell them to little middleschoolers or whatever the fuck, like every other drug.
This is nice and all but i think a permanent endorsement from a doctor should be the only way to get them. It'll limit abuse, and people don't have to renew subscriptions.
[QUOTE=SmashBrosFan11;36900807]You'll have to be 18+ to buy it probably, just like other medicine[/QUOTE]
You know that the third line said 16 or over, right?
I am glad that either doc was wrong with my prognosis of "will use preventative inhaler daily for rest of his life" or that acupuncture helped me.
You will take this medication or won't be able to get up three floors worth of stairs by 16 years of age, he said.
I am 20 and alright, without using any inhaler for about 6 years.
finally my drug of choice is in within reach
[QUOTE=SmashBrosFan11;36900807]You'll have to be 18+ to buy it probably, just like other medicine[/QUOTE]
You have to be 18+ to buy medicine from a supermarket where you live? That just seems odd.
[QUOTE=MightyMax;36900954]Then some highschool kids will buy them, and sell them to little middleschoolers or whatever the fuck, like every other drug.
This is nice and all but i think a permanent endorsement from a doctor should be the only way to get them. It'll limit abuse, and people don't have to renew subscriptions.[/QUOTE]
There's no reason what that would happen. If someone without asthma took and inhaler, nothing would happen, school kids are more interested in paracetamol and you can buy that from 16
can't wait to get high off of this stuff
Thank god they can be bought in stores now, I hated having to wait for a prescription to be ready when I'm having an Asthma attack.
I'm gonna buy all these and huff them.
[img]http://arctic-eagle.com/theownzone/the_goatman_cometh.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=EA_GAM3R420;36901589]I'm gonna buy all these and huff them.
[img]http://arctic-eagle.com/theownzone/the_goatman_cometh.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
Drugs are dangerous if you use them too much. Please be careful;.
[QUOTE=_NewBee;36900981]You have to be 18+ to buy medicine from a supermarket where you live? That just seems odd.[/QUOTE]
He was wrong, there is no legal age limit here for buying over the counter drugs, but it is at the pharmacists discretion over who will be sold them (Sometimes they ask a question or two about what the problem is when you ask for specific drugs)
Also thats for pharmacies in supermarkets, most ones here have self service and afaik you can buy the stuff from the shelves like paracetamol and such at any age without issue.
Thank god, i'm tired of calling my doctor.
Pretty sure that isn't meant to look like that.
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Re-linking shock image" - Ninja101))[/highlight]
[QUOTE=_NewBee;36900981]You have to be 18+ to buy medicine from a supermarket where you live? That just seems odd.[/QUOTE]
I couldn't buy compressed air for my keyboard because I wasn't 18.
What happens if I use one but don't have asthma?
thank fuck I keep waking up feeling as if my throat's tight as a motherfucker and these things in combination with one of these: [img]http://allergy.peds.arizona.edu/southwest/devices/spacers/images/ellips1.jpg[/img]
are the only things that can help me breathe
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;36902798]What happens if I use one but don't have asthma?[/QUOTE]
You will take in too much air and die
[QUOTE=James*;36903082]You will take in too much air and die[/QUOTE]
I must have asthma because i have used an inhaler when short on breath (i'm not fat nor was i working out/running) and i am... not dead.
well done
i didn't know you can get high off asthma inhalers
[QUOTE=The Mighty Boat;36901639]Drugs are dangerous if you use them too much. Please be careful;.[/QUOTE]
where did that post go??
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