Faced with shortages, the government banned the sale of paracetamol, a ubiquitous drug in medicine cabinets.
“The internet sale of specialties composed exclusively of paracetamol is suspended until January 31, 2023,” the government decreed in a decree published in the Official Gazette.
This decision takes note that “the tensions in paracetamol-based medicines have continued for more than six months”, in particular for forms intended for children.
Doliprane and Dafalgan worried
For several months now, the National Drug Safety Agency (ANSM) has been asking pharmacists to ration the sale of paracetamol to each patient, an emblematic analgesic that is used in particular as the base for Sanofi’s Doliprane and Dafalgan.
In December, the Ministry of Health had already warned that, despite these measures, the situation was still “complex” and would not be resolved for several weeks.
Shortage of multiple drugs
The government, in its decree, highlights in particular the worsening health situation in China, where Covid cases are skyrocketing after a sudden lifting of drastic health restrictions.
The Chinese government has banned the export of acetaminophen, while the country produces much of the active substance used by laboratories around the world.
These supply difficulties are also part of a broader context of shortages of multiple drugs, in France or in other countries, starting with antibiotics such as amoxicillin.
Source: BFM TV
