Tuesday, Jun 28, 2016

Dubai: The Ministry of Health and Prevention has denied all reports circulating in social media about the potential risks of taking the Nurofen drug, a painkiller manufactured by Britain-based Reckitt Benckiser.

In a statement on Tuesday, Dr Amin Hussain Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Policy and Licensing Sector at the Ministry of Health and Vice-president of pharmaceutical registering and pricing within the UAE, said all reports appearing in social media are scientifically not true, pointing out that no warnings have been issued about the medicine by the USA Food and Drug Administration or European Medicines Agency or Australian Medicine Agency.

Dr Al Amiri said the ministry received an official letter from the company that manufactures and markets the drug, confirming that the withdrawal of the product from Australia was based on a ruling that was issued following the demands of a consumer protection firm and was not issued by any health authority.

He further explained that the decision to withdraw the British-manufactured product from Australian markets was for the purpose of keeping only the Australian made medicine with the same composition circulating in the market.

He said that the laws in Australia and the UK allow pharmaceutical industries to produce medicines with the same composition in different brand names and prices, which may sometimes confuse consumers. While in the UAE, it is not the case, he added, because the regulations are different.

The ruling in Australia is not applicable to the British drug sold in the UAE, Dr Al Amiri said.

Further to his statement, he said licensed drugs in the UAE go through rigorous scientific examination and evaluation of their contents and the impact of the active drug substance.

Dr Al Amiri urged the public to stop believing rumours spread on social media and to always refer to the ministry, who is the only official source that would verify information related to medical products.

Staff Report

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