Pharmacy prices for OTC items

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?

Car99

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

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.

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.

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.

Padre_Pio

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

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

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.

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.

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? :)

POBox19

L1011

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

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?

L1011

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

Stuff getting delivered just means it wasn't caught!

You'd think Amazon would know.

I mean, they were all delivered with Prime!

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.

L1011

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

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.

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.

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"?