CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An official with the Consumer Healthcare
Products Association says prescriptions are not law enforcement mechanisms.
“We want to stop crime, but what we don’t want
to do is force busy moms and dads to take time off from work to go to the
doctor to access these medicines,” said Elizabeth Funderburk, Consumer
Healthcare Products Association senior director for communications and public
affairs.
CHPA is the national trade
association for the manufacturers of over the counter pharmaceuticals.
Funderburk said her organization
and others will be working against any attempts to change the law in West Virginia
House Health and Human Resources
Committee Chair Don Perdue has promised to introduce the legislation again
during the 2014 Regular Legislative Session after it picked up House approval
this year but died in the Senate on a tie vote.
If it’s approved, prescriptions
would be needed for medications like Advil Cold & Sinus, Allegra D,
Claritin D, Mucinex D and Sudafed.
Funderburk said people who are sick
should be able to get the medicine they need when they need it. “These
symptoms strike without warning and so immediate access to these medicines,
it’s important,” she said.
There are already limits on
purchases of medications containing pseudoephedrine in place in the Mountain State
The 2014 Regular Legislative Session begins in January.
