THE EDITOR, Sir:I WOULD like to respond to your front page article of Sunday, November 30, headlined "Morning After Scare - Postinor-2 Abuse Worries Pharmacists".
I would first like to state that Postinor-2 is an emergency contraceptive pill not "morning after".
While there is an increase in the sale of the product, it is erroneous to assume that there is a corresponding decrease in condom sales. In fact, Postinor-2 sales and condom sales have both recorded consistent increases since January 2003.
The increase in sales can easily be explained by the increase in awareness created by the public education programme which was undertaken. Also, the product was previously a prescription item so since a prescription is no longer required, there will be a natural increase in sales.
If a few pharmacies reported a decrease in condom sales, this should not be extrapolated to the entire country. Your reporter is obviously unaware that pharmacies are not the largest retailers of condoms in the island.
In fact, supermarkets, grocery stores, service stations and health centres distribute the greater proportion of condoms.
In the interest of enlightenment, I would like to state the following:
The product is a List 2 drug, not an over-the-counter item. That is, it can be procured without a prescription but only from the pharmacist. This gives the pharmacists the opportunity to counsel/advise the user on the product.The Pharmacy Council, in collaboration with the distributor, has so far held training seminars with pharmacists to prepare them to counsel the end users of Postinor-2. Other meetings are planned for 2004.The retail price of Postinor varies between $500.00 and $600.00. In my estimation, not many middle or lower income Jamaicans are willing to spend this amount of money to buy the product regularly, especially when compared to the price of a pack of condoms.The main target markets for the product are young adults and adolescents.Postinor-2 has been approved for sale without prescription in several countries.These include Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States (some states), to name a few. In these countries pharmacists accept their role and counsel the end-users, and made the difference between proper application and abuse.Our pharmacists need to step to the fore and assume the role of educators and counsellors and make the difference.
I am, etc.,
Basil Wright
Marketing Manager, Medimpex Jamaica Ltd
Editorial Note: Medimpex Ja Ltd are distributors of Postinor.
