alt Hacker NewsOTC drugs should be both available and regulated to be sold in such a way to minimize harm to people who use it.
Honestly, combination drugs are out of fucking control. Some people don't know Advil is ibuprofin. Some people think all Advil is ibuprofin. Both are wrong!
It used to be true that doctors could tell people that it was okay to take [X] brand drug with [Y] brand drug but anymore, there are a half dozen formulations of each in varying combinations on the shelf and half of them have some of the same ingredients. Basically every brand has a "fuck it lets just mix everything together, flu" version on the shelf now.
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I agree that drugs should be regulated, but that regulation should be primarily about ensuring that they are effective, safe when taken as instructed, and that they contain the ingredients they say that they do and don't contain ingredients that aren't listed.
It is not the government's responsibility, nor should it be, to try to solve the fact that someone can do something stupid with medication and harm themselves. Medication, by its very nature, interacts with and changes your body: that's the entire point. There is no way for something to be effective and also impossible to abuse or misuse. Regulating drug safety should always be based on following the instructions for how to use that drug.
That's not to say we can't do more the educate people, but ignorance should not lead to inaccessibility. There are tens of millions of people in this country that are fully capable of reading a box and following instructions and they should not have to live a worse quality of life because some people are not willing or able to do so.
I blame doctors and nurses. At least the ones I personally know tell patients "Advil" and "Tylenol" and never mention ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Actually, it's true for pretty much all OTC medications - they just use the branded names Immodium, not loperamide. Claritin. Zyrtec. Benadryl. Dramamine (drowsy/non-drowsy). The list goes on.
When asked, they always tell me one of two things:
1. They were trained on these names instead of the ingredient (scary!)
2. They want the "easiest" thing for the patients (i.e. so they don't have to look at the label).