Most people have old medicines at the back of the drawer, and normally the advice is to dispose of any out-of-date pills - but a new French study suggests that some expired medicines could still be effective.
A new study by consumer association UFC-Que Choisir - which published the results on September 19 - found that 80% of the out-of-date medicines tested were still 90% effective.
UFC-Que Choisir said that the results show “a real environmental, economic and health scandal”.
It said it would be referring the study results to the national medicines safety agency l’Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé (ANSM), and called for the authority to implement a series of measures to limit the waste of medicines.
In response, the ANSM said that it has already begun discussions with manufacturers to extend the official life of medicines.
What did the study look at?
UFC-Que Choisir analysed the active ingredient content in 30 types of painkillers, to assess the amount still remaining.
“For most medications, the active ingredient content must be between 95% and 105% throughout the shelf life, at least in Europe,” the association said, adding that in the USA, “the threshold is generally 90%”.
The tested medicines were:
The results showed that “only three samples in each group contained less than 90% of the stated quantity of active ingredient”; for example, less than 900 mg of paracetamol for a Doliprane 1g.
In one extreme test, the association tested Dafalgan (paracetamol) tablets that had been out of date for six years and had been left in the pocket of a hiking bag, throughout a heatwave, a heavy thunderstorm, numerous showers, temperatures of around 4 or 5°C, and then years in a damp cellar. Upon testing, they were found to still contain 95% paracetamol.
Similarly, Efferalgan (paracetamol) tablets that had been out of date for almost 32 years, kept in the cupboard of a man over age 100, still contained 100% of the active substance.
The worst results were found in one paracetamol, which had 84% active ingredient after expiring in 2018, and an ibuprofen that expired in 2022, which had 82% active ingredient left.
Normally, after the expiry date, medicines are officially considered to be unsafe, or have less active ingredient in them than required.
But UFC-Que Choisir said that its study proved that many medicines could be considered effective and safe to take even after the expiry date has long passed.
“These findings are particularly worrying, since throwing away effective medicines when they are supposedly out of date has major repercussions,” said the association.
‘Economic, environmental, and health consequences'
“These consequences are first and foremost economic, because this phenomenon leads to a more rapid renewal of medicines, which has a cost for the hospital system, health insurance and patients,” said UFC-Que Choisir.
It also warned of:
Excess environmental consequences, because unused medicines generate “a surplus of ‘useless’ waste”
Health issues, because medicines thrown away too soon can cause shortages or supply tensions for certain medications
Read also: France to launch plan to tackle winter medicine shortages
The association also questioned why the ANSM takes “a much more restrictive view than the American authorities when determining whether or not a drug retains its therapeutic virtues”.
It also asked why pharmaceutical companies are free to set their own dates for their own medicines, and that there are no laws that “require them to extend this date, even if they know perfectly well that they can guarantee the effectiveness of the drugs beyond that date”.
It claims that “economic criteria” seem to be “taking precedence over scientific criteria” in these cases.
‘Take back to the pharmacy’
There is no suggestion that people should take medicines beyond their expiry date, and patients are always advised to check with their doctor when it comes to taking medicines of any kind.
Similarly, prescription medicines should always be stored as stated on the packaging, and not be taken after the expiry date has passed. You should take any expired medication back to the pharmacy to dispose of it.
“As long as there is no decision from the ANSM [on this matter], you must take out-of-date medicines back to the pharmacy,” warned Philippe Besset, President of the Fédération des syndicats pharmaceutiques de France (FSPF) and the Libéraux de santé (LBS), to FranceInfo.
“The ANSM now needs to get involved and tell us whether UFC-Que Choisir is right or whether there is a bias in the investigation”, he said.
In recent years, French pharmacies have been working to combat medicine waste and shortages by dispensing tablets in the exact quantities described on the prescription, rather than giving out entire packets, boxes, or bottles.
Read also: Some antibiotics may be sold pill by pill due to shortages in France
This is common in countries like the UK, where pharmacists will regularly only dispense the exact amount of tablets needed for a course of treatment.
