Readers' Forum - Have Your Say:A READER by the name of Margaret got in touch with us last week in connection with the alarming price rise of one of the most well-known over-the-counter pain relief medications on sale in Ireland.
She says that, while there has been “quite an amount of news in the media recently about how the public were being saved lots of money due to price reductions of many medicines, I noticed a huge increase in one item”.
She suffers from migraine and uses Solpadeine capsules. She used to buy a box of 24 for approximately €3.20, with the amount varying by between 10 or 20 per cent depending on the chemist. She stresses that she is “very aware of the concerns over misuse of such medicines and uses them sparingly, with care”. The drug in question contains codeine which is a habit-forming substance.
“At about the same time as the publicised drop in certain medicine prices, the price of 24 Solpadeine capsules increased from approximately €3.20 to over €5.”
She says that when the pricing changes were introduced a new box of 32 Solpadeine capsules became available for prescription purposes. It retails at slightly over €4.
“So if you are prescribed Solpadeine capsules you can buy a box of 32 for a little over €4 whereas if you want them over-the-counter they will cost you over €5 for 24. The difference in price is huge. And the difference to the over-the-counter customer is even more of a hit, jumping by nearly €2 for the box of 24. Maybe I have missed an important detail but the bottom line for me is that I now have to pay nearly €2 extra for each box of 24 capsules.”
We spoke to a pharmacist who said that until recently 24 Solpadeine capsules were on the Medical Card scheme and so, effectively, the price had been frozen for 15 years. The manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), brought out a new 32-pack recently which is now available under the medical card scheme. This allowed GSK to take the 24-pack out of the scheme and increase the price as it saw fit. It says it is merely aligning the price of the capsules with the price of its soluble version of the same drug which sells for well over a fiver.
There are cheaper generic alternatives out there, however, and people might want to look towards Maxilief, a drug produced in Clonmel which contains the same ingredients as the better-known brand but sells for a lot less.
No corners cut on hedge trimmer’s guarantee
A READER from Kilkenny got in touch with a good news story. He bought a Black Decker hedge trimmer from Connolly’s Topline Hardware in Bagnelstown, Co Carlow, last summer. Recently it started acting up, well within the two-year guarantee. He returned it to the shop and they rang Black Decker. “The shop was told that, if there was one in stock, they should give it to me, otherwise they would get one down in three days. There was one in stock and I walked out very happy and mightily impressed with that level of service. Congratulations to all concerned.”
EBS very slow to give the money back
A READER went to EBS on Liffey Street on Thursday, January 21st to withdraw €7,000 he had in an investment account. He was told it would take three working days before a cheque would be available so off he went. “I returned the following Wednesday but was told it would take another two days.”
Two days later he went back into the branch and was told it would not be ready until the following Monday. His wife subsequently complained strongly and the cheque, magically, was ready for collection within a couple of hours, although they still had to wait six working days before the building society would give them their money. “Delaying tactics all the way,” he says . “They had no intention to issue the cheque without a fight.”
