A recent survey by Ireland’s largest pharmacy group has discovered that almost 50 per cent of Irish adults do not always check the expiry date on medication before taking it.
According to new research from DocMorris, one in six people said that they would consume medication even if it was out of date. The survey was carried out in conjunction with DocMorris’s nationwide ‘Medicine Safety’ campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the dangers of out of date medicine, the importance of adherence to medication regimens, and the safe disposal of medication.
The survey also found that 21 per cent said that they would take medicine not prescribed for them. Moreover, 45 per cent of those surveyed had taken medication left over from a previously prescribed course.
More than half of those surveyed said they do not dispose of out of date medicines correctly, with 55 per cent of adults putting out of date medicine in a domestic or household bins.