Self medication with over the counter medicines has long been a feature of the lay health system. With the reclassification of certain drugs, the public can buy preparations that were previously available only on prescription. Sales of over the counter medicines are now equivalent to a third of the NHS drugs bill; governments throughout the world see self medication as a way of shifting some of the cost of health care onto consumers. The trend towards increased self care and with it the increasing empowerment of patients has many potential benefits; collaboration between doctors and pharmacists will be critical.

Over any two week period, nine out of 10 adults will report having experienced at least one ailment.1 2 Non-prescription medicines, commonly known as over the counter or OTC medicines, are used to treat one in four of these episodes.2 Sales of over the counter medicines in pharmacy and grocery outlets reached pounds sterling1268.5 million in 1994 (box 1)—about a third of the NHS drugs bill of pounds sterling3.6 billion.

In the late 1980s the government fuelled the over the counter market by making it easier to reclassify certain medicines from prescription only status to allow over the counter sale in pharmacies. Progress was slow at first, with 11 medicines being reclassified between 1983 and 1992 (table 1), but since 1992 a further 40 medicines have been reclassified. This widened range of non-prescription medicines has highlighted the role of pharmacists, to whom the public is increasingly looking for advice.