Friday, October 9, 2009

Pseudo nonsense

John Key, acting on the advice of his science advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, plans to make pseudoephedrine-based cold remedies prescription-only medicines.

I am self-employed and when I get a cold I need to be able to continue to function in my work and family life. Pseudoephedrine-based cold medicines are the only effective treatment. Aside from the cost and inconvenience of having to see a doctor to obtain it, our national shortage of GPs means that it is often impossible to get an appointment with a GP in a hurry unless your are seriously ill. By the time I get to see the doctor and have a prescription filled, my symptons will usually have passed. So, a ban on over-the-counter sales of these cold remedies will greatly inconvenience me, cost me income and ruin my productivity for the period I have a cold.

I'm told that the vast majority of "P" is produced from imported ingredients and that abuse of over-the-counter sales has been virtually eliminated through the current vigilance of pharmacists. So what is the point of penalising law-abiding citizens?

This Sir Peter Gluckman already has his fingerprints all over the stupid Emissions Trading Scheme (see my post here). What other foolishness is John Key going to implement on this guy's advice?

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