PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health whether his Ministry has any plans to switch some prescription drugs for sale over the counter in the near future.

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: The Ministry regularly reviews the classification of drugs into prescription-only medicines, pharmacy-only products and over-the-counter medicines. Re-classification of drugs from one class to the other is done when clinical studies and reports show that it can be used safely for self-medication without direct medical supervision. In the classification of drugs, we also make reference to its status in the country where the product is manufactured. The Ministry will reclassify the prescription-only medicines into over-the-counter medicines as and when appropriate.