1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,240
Speaker 1: We know that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has issued a

2
00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:08,400
Speaker 1: recall of cough medicines containing fol codeine, and the medicines

3
00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:10,840
Speaker 1: have been recalled due to a link between them and

4
00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:15,320
Speaker 1: the increased risk of anaphylactic reactions to medicines used during

5
00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,440
Speaker 1: general anesthesia. As I understand it now, patients are being

6
00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,200
Speaker 1: encouraged to seek advice from their local pharmacist about the recall,

7
00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:27,920
Speaker 1: and the Pharmacy Guild NT President Peter Hatswell joins me

8
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:28,880
Speaker 1: on the line right now.

9
00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,840
Speaker 2: Good morning, Peter, Good morning Katie.

10
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,560
Speaker 1: Peter. Firstly, can you explain why this folk codeine medicines

11
00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,600
Speaker 1: are being recalled? And I apologize if I'm pronouncing it incorrectly.

12
00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,120
Speaker 2: No, you're pronouncing it perfectly well. I should point out

13
00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,519
Speaker 2: if people are looking for this product in anything that

14
00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,440
Speaker 2: they have at home, he's filled with a pH so

15
00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:56,880
Speaker 2: it's a fulcating pH L cop on E. And the

16
00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,440
Speaker 2: reason it has been recalled is because I think about

17
00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:05,800
Speaker 2: November last year, the European Medicines Agency decided to withdraw

18
00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,640
Speaker 2: all products containing folcanine from the market because they had

19
00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:14,320
Speaker 2: noticed an increased risk, albeit rare, that people who had

20
00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:20,440
Speaker 2: taken folcanine in the twelve months prior to a operation

21
00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:27,039
Speaker 2: where they were undergoing general anesthetic that rarely but sometimes happened.

22
00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:33,280
Speaker 2: They might suffer a severe anaphylectic reaction which could lead

23
00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,720
Speaker 2: to death and which of course is very serious.

24
00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,640
Speaker 1: Yeah right, that is incredibly serious. So tell me what

25
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:41,760
Speaker 1: types of medicines are we talking about here?

26
00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,320
Speaker 2: Well, fulcanine is a very common product that's used has

27
00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,520
Speaker 2: been used since the nineteen fifties in a whole range

28
00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:57,400
Speaker 2: of different things, mostly syrups and lozenges or dry cough.

29
00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,200
Speaker 2: So anything that says dry cough on the label, whether

30
00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,240
Speaker 2: lozenge or the syrup, and even if it's just the

31
00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,320
Speaker 2: sort of an all rounder, have a look at the

32
00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:11,040
Speaker 2: label and just check to see if it has folcating

33
00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:13,919
Speaker 2: in it, and that would be something that is basically

34
00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:15,680
Speaker 2: going to be withdrawn from the market.

35
00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,000
Speaker 1: Yeah right. I know that. I've even got some tablets

36
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,880
Speaker 1: at home for a chesty dry cough, and I wonder

37
00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:22,919
Speaker 1: if they're in that list.

38
00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,799
Speaker 2: Yeah, there are more than one, and there are certainly

39
00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,520
Speaker 2: a number of products that do not contain fulcating. So

40
00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:32,560
Speaker 2: have a look at the label and if it doesn't

41
00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:36,320
Speaker 2: contain fulcating, and it's not covered by this withdrawal.

42
00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:38,799
Speaker 1: Peter, do you reckon that it's likely that a lot

43
00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:41,920
Speaker 1: of Territorians would have medicines with fol codeine in it.

44
00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,440
Speaker 2: I'd say it's very likely. Look, I've taken folcatin over

45
00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,720
Speaker 2: the years, many many times. Dry cops are very common.

46
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,639
Speaker 2: People may not finish a bottle that they've had from

47
00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,240
Speaker 2: a previous dry cough. Yeah, I'd be very surprised if

48
00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,320
Speaker 2: most people who have a decent medicine cabinet, sorts of

49
00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,720
Speaker 2: mixtures and things like that, that they don't have something

50
00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,040
Speaker 2: in their cup. And I'd say that very likely they do.

51
00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,359
Speaker 2: And if they do, the only well, you can't take

52
00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:14,440
Speaker 2: it back. It's only a withdrawal from retail stores and wholesalers.

53
00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,080
Speaker 2: So anybody who has bought the product really has it

54
00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,520
Speaker 2: can either continue using it if they know they definitely

55
00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,200
Speaker 2: won't be going under general athetic because it's quite safe

56
00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,520
Speaker 2: unless it's combined with the general anesthetic. And like I said,

57
00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,680
Speaker 2: we can't always know when that's going to happen in

58
00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,760
Speaker 2: the future. There's twelve months that you have to be

59
00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,160
Speaker 2: aware of this, and otherwise, I just if you really

60
00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,520
Speaker 2: are concerned, then you just need to dispose of it.

61
00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,440
Speaker 2: Take it into your local pharmacy and they'll dispose of

62
00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:42,080
Speaker 2: it's for you.

63
00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,240
Speaker 1: Peter, Do we know why that folkadine has a reaction

64
00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,040
Speaker 1: then when you you know, when you go under general

65
00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:49,760
Speaker 1: an aesthetic.

66
00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,320
Speaker 2: I have asked that question this morning, but I don't

67
00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,480
Speaker 2: know that I've really been told, like what the mechanism

68
00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,080
Speaker 2: of action. I would really love to know how a

69
00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:04,200
Speaker 2: drug one drug causes an anaphylectic reaction to another. Certainly

70
00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,520
Speaker 2: a good question, and I don't know the answer to that.

71
00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, it does. I mean, it's just really interesting. I

72
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,200
Speaker 1: suppose to put it mildly. But as you've said, you know,

73
00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,600
Speaker 1: really very important that if you do know that you

74
00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,760
Speaker 1: are going in for an operation or something, that you

75
00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,839
Speaker 1: need to make sure that you're not taking those mixtures

76
00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,400
Speaker 1: or lozenges or anything with folkadine in it. Are there

77
00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:27,880
Speaker 1: suitable alternatives available as well?

78
00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:32,839
Speaker 2: Peter, just about track just a little bit. If someone

79
00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:35,960
Speaker 2: knows that they've been taking a drake Off medicine that

80
00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,880
Speaker 2: has had volcadin in it, and that they are going

81
00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,560
Speaker 2: to go up for a general anesthetic sometime in the

82
00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,760
Speaker 2: near future, they should just let the hospital or their

83
00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,720
Speaker 2: health professional know that that's the case, and they can

84
00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,719
Speaker 2: sort of kind of take that into consideration when they

85
00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,880
Speaker 2: go into their operation. But there are alternatives. I'm not

86
00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,240
Speaker 2: going to mention names because otherwise I'll create some kind

87
00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,160
Speaker 2: of mad rush on it. Yeah, but there are certainly

88
00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,360
Speaker 2: there is no other medications that are good for dry cough,

89
00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,960
Speaker 2: and certainly, you know, if you want to, I'll say

90
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,520
Speaker 2: Fisherman's Friend. But there are lots of those sort of

91
00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,719
Speaker 2: basic lozenges that don't really have any drugs as such.

92
00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,120
Speaker 2: They get natural that people can take to sue that

93
00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:21,320
Speaker 2: dry cough and they're quite.

94
00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,720
Speaker 1: Safe and peter. Just to sort of recap on it.

95
00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:28,359
Speaker 1: If someone is going for surgery under general anesthesia and

96
00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,680
Speaker 1: may have had folkadine, they really need to just make

97
00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,440
Speaker 1: sure that they're letting their specialist or their doctor know

98
00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:36,320
Speaker 1: that they've done so.

99
00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:42,480
Speaker 2: Yes, just before the operation, they're going to probably do

100
00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:46,320
Speaker 2: some kind of you know, interview about what whether they've

101
00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,880
Speaker 2: got an out of allergic reactions and what drugs they

102
00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,000
Speaker 2: can take and all that kind of stuff. When they

103
00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,360
Speaker 2: get to that point, they should note that, oh, yes,

104
00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,119
Speaker 2: I've taken folkadeine three months ago or something or whatever

105
00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,320
Speaker 2: it is. It doesn't really matter. It's like within twelve

106
00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,080
Speaker 2: but they're saying up to twelve months before the general anesthetic.

107
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,520
Speaker 2: They just need to be aware that they can be

108
00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:07,720
Speaker 2: just that a little bit extra prepared and watch out

109
00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,120
Speaker 2: for the signs of a potential anaphylactic reaction.

110
00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, Peter, I know that there are parents listening this morning.

111
00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:16,719
Speaker 1: A couple of texts through and just sort of asked,

112
00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:19,000
Speaker 1: do we need to be you know, like, do we

113
00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,960
Speaker 1: need to be concerned if our kids have had medicine

114
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,440
Speaker 1: containing folkadine if they're not going under general anesthetic.

115
00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:31,800
Speaker 2: No, not at all. It is perfectly faithed. It's only

116
00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:36,440
Speaker 2: the combination of folcaden within twelve months, and the general

117
00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:40,120
Speaker 2: anesthesia is the only time it seems to be an issue. So,

118
00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,040
Speaker 2: you know, what has been a really good medication use,

119
00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:48,000
Speaker 2: you know, more than half a century. It's not a

120
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,400
Speaker 2: problem for there are all those kids, and even if

121
00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,960
Speaker 2: you're an adult. It's the combination of that general anesthetic

122
00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:55,880
Speaker 2: that's the problem, not the judging itself.

123
00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,440
Speaker 1: Peter. I always appreciate your time, and you are all

124
00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:02,560
Speaker 1: my questions for me and all the questions that I

125
00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,080
Speaker 1: know our listeners have got. So I really appreciate it

126
00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,440
Speaker 1: and thank you for your time this morning.

127
00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:09,440
Speaker 2: You're most welcome, Kattie.

128
00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:10,080
Speaker 1: Thanks Peter,