Glucosamine Anti-Inflamatory available over the counter

Manufacturers and sellers of the popular glucosamine sulfate products can breathe easy after they were excluded from a decision to schedule potassium chloride by the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee.

Executive Director of the CHC, Dr Tony Lewis, welcomed the decision which followed lobbying by the CHC, other industry groups and the TGA, over the past month. It means that glucosamine, a popular medicine for the management of arthritis and osteoporosis, will continue to be available over the counter in health food shops, supermarkets and pharmacies.

The NDPSC considered scheduling potassium chloride products - which could have affected glucosamine making it available only by prescription from a pharmacist - after a recommendation in a report by the NSW Deputy Coroner.

"We argued strongly that glucosamine sulfate products complexed with potassium chloride are safe and are unrelated to the product which concerned the Deputy Coroner," Dr Lewis said.

"The CHC's submission to the NDPSC included a toxicological and risk-based assessment which reported that there is a very low level of risk associated with potassium chloride in glucosamine products currently on the market.

"We also argued that glucosamine is a significantly popular product in Australia which provides relief to many hundreds of thousands of people who seek an alternative to anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical drugs which often have side effects.

"The complementary medicines industry sells an estimated $115 million a year in glucosamine in Australia. A scheduling of the product would have had a devastating impact on local manufacturers and sponsors. Glucosamine is among the most popular complementary medicines in Australia."

Dr Lewis said that glucosamine is regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration which runs one of the most stringent regulatory regimes of complementary medicines in the world.

"Our lobbying efforts combined with our strongly argued case have been successful in ensuring glucosamine will continue to be widely available to all Australians," Dr Lewis said.

The media release announcing the decision can be found on the Therapeutic Goods Administration website here: http://www.tga.gov.au/media/2006/061018-potassium.htm