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Pharmacy prices for OTC items

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  • 17-04-2022 12:35pm
    #1
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭


    Yesterday I ran out of antihistamines that I need to take for hayfever, and my regular pharmacy was out of stock. They charge €11.50 for a packet of 28 "Lorat" - which is generic loratadine.

    I went to another pharmacy close by which I don't usually go to and got the same 28 pack of antihistamines for €5.20.

    My jaw dropped. At first I thought they'd given me a 7 day pack, but no, the sales assistant checked, and it was the 28 pack. I then asked for a 24 pack of paracetemol which my regular pharmacy charges €3.50 for. I was charged €1.50.

    So - regular pharmacy - the cost would have been €15.00 for both items. New pharmacy - €6.70 for both items.

    How can the pricing be so different? Has my regular pharmacy been ripping me off?

    Post edited by [Deleted User] on


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    #2
    Car99
    Registered Users Posts: 2,530 ✭✭✭Car99


    Yes your regular pharmacy is ripping you off. I try to buy only prescription medicines from local pharmacies



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    #3
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    I usually just go to the same pharmacy all the time, as my monthly GP and LTI prescriptions have been going there for years.

    But I'll definitely be going to the other place in future for OTC stuff.



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    #4
    POBox19
    Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭POBox19


    Shop around, it pays. You'll find Loratadine on Amazon.co.uk. I see one there a generic 240 pack works out about €16 delivery included.

    I'm prescribed low dose aspirin, €7.40 in an Irish pharmacy, £0.99 in Newry for 28 pack, not even a months supply. I bought 2 years supply from Amazon.com for €17.00, works out at a saving of €88 per year. Before you ask, it is all ok with the doc.



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    #5
    Xander10
    Registered Users Posts: 4,914 ✭✭✭Xander10


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118938622#Comment_118938622

    I wouldn't have thought Amazon were allowed supply that quantity.

    Dangerous in the wrong hands.



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    #6
    Padre_Pio
    Registered Users Posts: 5,140 ✭✭✭Padre_Pio


    Prices of OTC painkillers in Newry are so much lower here.

    You also don't get interrogated for buying nurofen plus.



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    #7
    HildaOgdenx
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,962 Mod ✭✭✭✭HildaOgdenx


    Definitely worth shopping around.

    I have found the same products in two chemists within the same shopping centre - so it's easy to check them against each other - at very different prices.

    Not as drastic a difference as you mention but enough to make me always check now. And yes, up North or in the UK, always well worth buying paracetamol etc.



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    #8
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118938622#Comment_118938622

    I ordered a six month multipack of loratadine from amazon back in March - initially the order went through but a day or two later I got an email that the order was cancelled and I was refunded. No reason why given, but I presumed its because Im in Ireland.



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    #9
    POBox19
    Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭POBox19


    They do that occasionally, try again. Supplier may have run out. I got 12 months of Cetirizine last year for £6 no problems. Want some? :)



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    #10
    POBox19
    Registered Users Posts: 683 ✭✭✭POBox19





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    #11
    L1011
    Registered Users Posts: 68,678 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Import of pharmaceuticals, even OTC ones, by post or courier is explicitly illegal.



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    #12
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118954671#Comment_118954671

    Is it? 😕

    I used to order regularly from Chemist Direct (I think it was called).

    I still order quite a few OTC things from Amazon.co.uk, recently savlon antispectic ointment, Eurax cream, aspirin, and also some pet things like flea and tick spot ons - and they were all delivered no problem?



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    #13
    L1011
    Registered Users Posts: 68,678 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) Regulations 2003.

    Stuff getting delivered just means it wasn't caught!



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    #14
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    You'd think Amazon would know.

    I mean, they were all delivered with Prime!



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    #15
    Xterminator
    Registered Users Posts: 4,735 ✭✭✭Xterminator


    Can websites outside Ireland sell non-prescription medicines in Ireland? Websites in other EU countries are allowed to sell non-prescription medicines to consumers in Ireland, if: • the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) authorises the product for use in Ireland as a non-prescription medicine; • the website displays the Common Logo with their country’s flag and a link to their country’s Internet Supply List. The new rules and additional safety features apply to EU countries only

    from https://www.thepsi.ie/Libraries/Approved_companies/PSI_Information_Leaflet_Buying_Non-Prescription_Medicines_Safely_Online.sflb.ashx

    it looks like a change in 2016 allows OTC medicine to be shipped throughout the EU if registered properly in their individual country & the product is authorized in Ireland as non prescription by HPRA. So paracetamol and antihistamines would be perfectly legal to buy online as an Irish consumer.

    this does not apply to prescription medicines obviously.



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    #16
    L1011
    Registered Users Posts: 68,678 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Wasn't aware of that change - doesn't apply to Amazon UK or other UK sites anymore anyway!



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    #17
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Thanks for the info, will check out Hagglezon for EU suppliers!

    Update: 200 loratadine from Amazon.de for €19.05 including 99c for delivery by April 30 - May 3.

    That'll do nicely.

    Post edited by [Deleted User] on


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    #18
    ItHurtsWhenIP
    Registered Users Posts: 2,015 ✭✭✭ItHurtsWhenIP


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118957658#Comment_118957658

    I get a years supply of Cetirizine from the US via eBay for about €30 incl. shipping. On a couple of occasions (including last year), the package was opened by customs, but it was still delivered.



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    #19
    Ardent
    Registered Users Posts: 5,290 ✭✭✭Ardent


    My wife told me today she paid €15.50 today in a pharmacy for a pack of 24 Nurofen Plus. We were both shocked at that price but it appears to be the norm for all pharmacies.

    When I look at the price of the same thing in the UK it's £7.89 (or about €9.20):

    https://lloydspharmacy.co.uk/products/nurofen-plus-24-tablets


    So, is this a rip-off, or a post-Brexit thing, or just the usual "paddy tax"?



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