Gas stations and convenience stores across New Brunswick have been told to stop selling some nonprescription drugs, and could face fines if they don't.
The New Brunswick College of Pharmacists says it's all to protect the public. Pharmacist Dennis Abud says there are stats that show there have been hospitalizations due to medication mismanagement.
“They're not trained to know that this drug could interact with something they're already taking,” Abud says. “The dosages could be off depending on the person, so it's just all about better patient safety.”
Drugs on the list include popular medications like Gravol, Advil, Aspirin and Tylenol.
According to the New Brunswick Pharmacy Act, wholesalers were prohibited from selling limited access drugs to anyone that is not registered with the New Brunswick College of pharmacists. This includes corner stores and gas stations.
Although some of these drugs can be bought off the shelf at the pharmacy, Abud says the difference is in the help his staff can provide.
“At our store we have three pharmacists on staff who are roaming around, asking people if they have questions right off the bat and if they do have questions they can turn around and talk to somebody,” he says.
The problem with the crackdown on where these treatments can be sold is the inconvenience now facing those is rural communities.
“What I see as being the real problem is in rural areas where there aren't pharmacies. Now they're stuck with driving all the way in to larger cities and larger establishments to find a pharmacy just to pick up a bottle of Tylenol, a bottle of Aspirin,” says Kevin Davidson of Coverdale, N.B.
If unregulated stores don't stop selling the products on the list, they could be facing a fine.
“We're regulated as a profession to keep products behind the counter, and if they're not the college can give us penalties. (Convenience stores) should be following those same rules. They are not pharmacies, they are just corner stores,” says Abud.
Stores across the province are being asked to return the drugs on the list provided by the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
