Tons of outdated meds dumped

A campaign to encourage people in Cork and Kerry to safely dispose of unused and out-of-date medicines has seen more than 3.5 tonnes of medicines collected from pharmacies.

More than 260 bins of medicines were disposed of as part of the campaign organised by HSE South and pharmacists in Cork and Kerry.

The HSE says the campaign not only gave people the opportunity to get rid of out-of-date or unused medicines but also raised the public's awareness of how excess medicines in the home can pose a hazard, particularly to children or other vulnerable people.

In addition, it said, medicines can change whenout-of-date and may end up being harmful to those taking them.

The HSE said it would encourage people to discuss their prescription regularly with their doctor or pharmacist, as they may already have enough medicine at home and may not need to get the full prescription dispensed.

It said checking and cleaning out a medicine cabinet of unused medicines is something that should be done on a regular basis.

[Posted: Wed 22/04/2009]