Unintended consequences of painkiller innovation

The retail price of over-the-counter painkillers fell sharply a few years back when one of the last legal price-fixing agreements covering pharmaceutical products came to an end. Within days the cost of a packet of soluble aspirins had halved as supermarkets rushed to bring their own-label products to the market space. Cheaper pain-killers have been a benefit to millions of people who paid over the odds to chemists and Big Pharma for cold remedies and relief from the pain of toothache and other ailments. But one of the unintended consequences of tough competition in the market has been the emergence of yet more powerful tablets.

How many of us when faced with an array of cold-remedies now opt by default for the ‘extra strength’ variety? The manufacturers know that putting simple phrases such as “new improved”, “maximum strength” and “fast acting, dual action” on the packets are often enough for consumers to trade up to strong pain-killing products and pay a premium price.

But one of the consequences of research and development in the over-the-counter market for pain remedies has been growing evidence of consumer addiction. John Gapper writes about this in this blog.

Codeine present in many products such as Nurofen Plus and Solpadeine Plus in particular is causing great concern. A House of Commons report published earlier on this year recommended that painkillers containing codeine should be sold in smaller packets and available only after consultation.