Melatonin in Ireland.

flowerguy

Mod/Firstly note:
While indeed, Melatonin is not available in Ireland (no license for even OTC sale).

Name:Melatonin

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When/Can Melatonin be licensed for sale in Ireland?.
Its for sale everywhere else in the world...


Can the IMB or whatever now they're called allow the shops to sell it?

RobFowl

There is a prescription version of melatonin licensed in Ireland.
It's called circadin and is licensed for over 55's with insomnia.
It's recommended for short term use only.

masterboy123

I prescribed Circadin (melatonin) today to one of my patients. It's available and used widely in Ireland.

cerastes

how much, apart from the fact you have to pay a GP for a visit.

beardo81

A relative child of mine takes melatonin to help him go to sleep, he is three. He gets prescription from his paeditrician. It had to be ordered in specially for him in liquid form, not widely used I don't think

Harold Finchs Machine

beardo81 wrote: »

A relative child of mine takes melatonin to help him go to sleep, he is three. He gets prescription from his paeditrician. It had to be ordered in specially for him in liquid form, not widely used I don't think

Why can he not sleep?

RobFowl

Harold Finchs Machine wrote: »

Why can he not sleep?

Mod note
Be very careful here and read the forum charter before going any further
Rob

beardo81

Harold Finchs Machine wrote: »

Why can he not sleep?

He had trouble falling asleep related to his autism. He has been on Melatonin for 13 months now, an appointment to review this soon.
The melatonin will not keep him asleep, just help him get there.

masterboy123

Melatonin is readily available in tablet forms all over Ireland.

Simon2015

masterboy123 wrote: »

Melatonin is readily available in tablet forms all over Ireland.

I haven't see anywhere in Ireland selling Melatonin it only seems to be available online.

angeldelight

Simon2015 wrote: »

I haven't see anywhere in Ireland selling Melatonin it only seems to be available online.

It's available on prescription from a doctor

Simon2015

angeldelight wrote: »

It's available on prescription from a doctor

Well it doesn't seem to be listed here.

http://www.medicines.ie/

locum-motion

Simon2015 wrote: »

I haven't see anywhere in Ireland selling Melatonin it only seems to be available online.

angeldelight wrote: »

It's available on prescription from a doctor

Simon2015 wrote: »

Well it doesn't seem to be listed here.

http://www.medicines.ie/

It wouldn't be listed there. That site is the owned and operated by the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (the mouthpiece of the pharm manufacturing industry in Ireland)

Melatonin is not licensed in Ireland. As an unlicensed medicine, a doctor may prescribe it, and the pharmacy can procure it for you, but to procure it yourself from the internet is illegal.

masterboy123

It's available with prescription only in ireland.

El_Dangeroso

locum-motion wrote: »

Melatonin is not licensed in Ireland. As an unlicensed medicine, a doctor may prescribe it, and the pharmacy can procure it for you, but to procure it yourself from the internet is illegal.

Just wondering how they define something as a medication when it is not licensed? Is a list maintained anywhere?

The reason I ask is that there are many herbs that are not medications but they have active compounds within them, and since I don't think Ireland has a formal herb registration like other countries in the EU (open to correction on this) I just wonder how they define medication.

echo beach

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I just wonder how they define medication.

That is a really good question.
I think anything that claims to treat a medical condition is regarded as a medication, regardless of whether it contains any active ingredient or has any efficacy. To be licenced it has to show safety and at least some efficacy, although it may not be much better than placebo.
That is why many herbal products are sold as 'food supplements' and make no medical claims.

El_Dangeroso

echo beach wrote: »

That is a really good question.
I think anything that claims to treat a medical condition is regarded as a medication, regardless of whether it contains any active ingredient or has any efficacy. To be licenced it has to show safety and at least some efficacy, although it may not be much better than placebo.
That is why many herbal products are sold as 'food supplements' and make no medical claims.

I was thinking about it a bit more and there are all sorts things that would never pass as food supplements when held up to scrutiny that are basically just active compounds sold in health food shops with zero regulation.

So all you have to do is make no health claims and stay under the HPRA's radar it seems..

Kurtosis

Actually, it looks like melatonin is scheduled in the Medicinal Products Regulations 2003 (here) which makes it prescription only. As mentioned by RobFowl above, there is a product called Circadin which is licensed at the EU level and is available on prescription here.

El_Dangeroso

penguin88 wrote: »

Actually, it looks like melatonin is scheduled in the Medicinal Products Regulations 2003 (here) which makes it prescription only. As mentioned by RobFowl above, there is a product called Circadin which is licensed at the EU level and is available on prescription here.

That's interesting. So let's say tianeptine, which is a licensed anti-depressant medication in France (tradename Stablon) is not listed on that schedule.

What's it's legal status if not specifically listed as a medication?

Kurtosis

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

That's interesting. So let's say tianeptine, which is a licensed anti-depressant medication in France (tradename Stablon) is not listed on that schedule.

What's it's legal status if not specifically listed as a medication?

I'm a bit rusty on the legalities of it but I imagine tianeptine would meet the legal definition of a medicinal product and in the above regulations there is a provision that medicinal products not listed in any of the schedules are "new chemical molecules" and are de facto prescription only.

echo beach

penguin88 wrote: »

I'm a bit rusty on the legalities of it but I imagine tianeptine would meet the legal definition of a medicinal product and in the above regulations there is a provision that medicinal products not listed in any of the schedules are "new chemical molecules" and are de facto prescription only.

I would agree. Medicines available in other countries can be sourced here and supplied as unlicensed medicines but only on prescription. The prescriber must take full legal responsibility and can't prescribe it if there is a suitable licenced alternative. In practice only a specialist would be willing to prescribe something like that

locum-motion

I owe an apology. I was forgetting about the Circadin product when I posted earlier saying Melatonin was unlicensed in Ireland.