Medicine labels to change
August 10, 2016
NEW medicine labels will begin to
appear from the end of this month,
under revised standards which will
be made public next week.
The changes formally come into
effect from 31 Aug but there is
a four year transition period to
allow sponsors sufficient time to
transition to the new arrangements.
The new standards will be
available on the Federal Register
of Legislation on 17 Aug, with
the requirements aiming to make
Australian medicine labels “clearer
and more consistent,” according to
the TGA.
Under the changes active
ingredients will be more prominent,
while most OTC medicines will have
a Critical Health Information panel.
Non-prescription medicines will
be required to list more substances
that could cause an allergic
reaction, such as crustacea, fish,
eggs, soya, milk and tree nuts.
Prescription medicines will also
have a designated space for a
dispensing label, to ensure other
information on a carton or bottle is
not inadvertently obscured.
“Labelling requirements have not
been updated for many years...
these changes help bring Australian
medicine labels up to date and
align them with international best
practice,” the TGA website advises.
Pharmacists are advised the
changes may lead to questions
from consumers, with printable
materials to explain the move to be
made available in late 2016.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 10 Aug 16To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 10 Aug 16
