Pseudoephedrine- and ephedrine-containing medicines: 2011 review of actions to manage the risk of misuse.

In the United Kingdom in 2008, legal measures were introduced to manage the risk of misuse of cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine in the illegal manufacture of methylamphetamine (crystal meth). The measures included reduced pack sizes, and a tighter control on sales. These measures have been reviewed yearly since 2008 (see MHRA Public Assessment Report from 2009 and MHRA Public Assessment Report from 2010). The reviews concluded that the measures have been effective in managing the misuse of pseudoephedrine- and ephedrine-containing medicines. This Public Assessment Report published in August 2011 presents a review of the impact of the legal measures from 2010 - 2011. As with previous reviews, the 2011 review concluded that the measures are continuing to effectively manage the risk of misuse of pseudoephedrine- and ephedrine-containing medicines. [Note, this publication has been archived by the publisher