Warning labels on medicines should be simplified because words such as "drowsiness" and "avoid" are too confusing for modern patients, experts claim.Wha..?
Research by the British National Formulary (BNF), which advises doctors, nurses and pharmacists, found labelling that has been around for decades is now too difficult for members of the public to understand.They’ll be going back to symbols and pictograms soon…
It found phrases such as "may cause drowsiness" are no longer "readily understood" and should now be simplified to say "this medicine may make you sleepy".
Likewise, the phrases "avoid alcoholic drink" and "take at regular intervals" caused indecision among modern takers.Oh, god, I’m not surprised!
Expecting anyone to make a decision about what constitutes a ‘regular interval’ when someone should be telling them, god damn it! is just asking for trouble. Is it one hour, two, three? Don’t ask me to work it out myself!
But surely ‘avoid’ is clear? What else could it mean?
The experts reworded phrases that people found confusing, and then retested them in several sittings, including one-to-one interviews./facepalm
Prof Raynor said "avoid alcoholic drinks" was a good example.
"Our user tests have shown that the word "avoid" can cause confusion and that some people think it only means they should limit their alcohol intake.
"This phrase will now be replaced by the instruction: 'do not drink alcohol while taking this medicine', which is far clearer."
Is there a medication for stupidity? I’m pretty sure we need one...
Subrosa suspects the EU is actually pulling the strings on this one.
And Subrosa is quite correct, Julia
ReplyDeleteFDA. The states, Food and Drug Administration, classing and regulating food and drugs as one. Language used, advice given on packaging and in the PIL, Product Information Leaflet, to be legally protective of the manufacturer and informative of known adverse reactions.
ReplyDeleteResult manufacturers worldwide satisfy this authority as its favourable recommendation virtually guarantees global marketing standards are satisfied but, the information becomes so completely useless to the consumer as is the advice not to microwave a cat or expect cruise control vehicles to drive without any human input once the feature is engaged.
I am waiting to see someone paid to develop instructions for the use of toilet paper to be printed on each sheet and will be as unsurprised by this event as some of the things I read on food and drugs packaging. I know what they will be printing next, ‘customer advised to open mouth before attempting to consume product to aviod unnecessary wastage’ or 'please remove packaging before consumption'
The mind (well mine, at any rate) boggles how they would re-word "Do not take orally" on a suppository...
ReplyDeleteI say leave the labels alone and let Darwin decide...
ReplyDelete...the instruction:'do not drink alcohol while taking this medicine', which is far clearer."
ReplyDeletePerhaps not clear enough?
QUOTE - [Telegraph letters, March 3rd]
//Obviously you are not to swallow the pills with a double whisky, but according to the instructions, one could have the whisky five minutes afterwards.//
Whilst on this subject ..
ReplyDeleteIs it just me .. or is anyone else sick & tired of being subjected to the "Third Degree" and being issued with a set of instructions by some over-weight, over-made-up Doris .. with a "Health Care Assistant" (my arse, she's a shop assistant .. no more, no less) badge pinned to her tabard, every time one tries to purchase a perfectly legal over-the-counter pain relief Medication .. in a perfectly legal dosage ?
Whilst less than 2 miles away, I could (if so inclined) buy unlimited quantities of Class A drugs, no questions asked ..
I had such an encounter in a local Pharmacy (Chemist's Shop in reality) recently .. The "Doris" claiming that her reasons for asking me her version of "Twenty Questions" was that she had a "duty of care" in case I fell asleep at the wheel, having taken all these tablets at once ..
Having advised her that her "duty" was to serve customers & nothing else and then having told her that I no longer wished to purchase them & would spend my money elsewhere, my suggestion that she could use said Medication as suppositories was somewhat less than well received ..
Lloyd's Pharmacy boils my piss ...
//Lxxxx's Pharmacy boils my piss //
ReplyDeleteI thought it was only Alchemists that did that (when trying to make gold)?
My local purveyor of pills 'n potions has a notice on the counter giving the name of the "Responsible Pharmacist on duty"
So I asked whether other three staff in the dispensary were 'irresponsible.'
PS - re; labelling in general- I've just purchased one of those 'disposable coverall suits' for DIY. The safety info is given in forty-seven languages - not including Arabic. This may give some insight into the current situation in N Africa?
I heard John Humphries 'discuss' this with Prof raynor on the Radio the other morning. I nearly spat my coffee out everywhere. Humphries was clearly bemused and amused but had decided (or was told) not to rip the patronising idiots throat out.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with Captain Haddock's concerns as I use my local Sainsbury's Pharmacy and keep being asked to undergo a prescription review which I have told them is not their business, that is why i have a GP. And as for doctors receptionists! I told one once that i would be more than happy to discuss my clinical needs with her if she could prove she was a qualified GP and then I'd rather do it in private and not in a crowded waiting room. That was funny!
Jack Dee solves it all:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drhkVKlHWZI&feature=related
They’ll be going back to symbols and pictograms soon…
ReplyDeleteThey'll have fun with suppositories....
Generally, I like your blog but this reeks of desperation.
ReplyDeleteHow can you present a bid for clearer English as an example of dumbing down?
Do you support the weird third person English taught by public schools in the 1920-1960 period? Can anyone really deny that "do not" is clearer than "avoid"?
Avoid hitting your head with that hammer in your hand means you can swing but make sure you miss. Is that sensible? Why would you tell anyone to do that? Far simpler to say "Do not hit your head with that hammer in your hand"
Remember that instructions should be incapable of being misunderstood. They should be easily learned and easily applied in and emergency.
This policy seems to fit the bill, and it ill behoves you to campaign for the status quo.
But I bet you see what I did there...
How about a bid for improvement in the classroom? Reading labels never used to present a problem. But then, before various governments tried to fix it, the standard of literacy and numeracy wasn't much of a problem either.
ReplyDeleteI say restore the status quo, not pander to crap modern education.
What Mjolinir said about the double whisky afterwards.
ReplyDeleteInstuction manual for Honda CBX, 1,000cc 6 cylinder inline m'bike c1980.
1. Sit astride the machine.
Personally I've always found the "avoid alcohol" instruction confusing.
ReplyDeleteIt is unclear whether the reason is,
a) you might die, b) the medicine won't work, c) the result will be "interesting".
As a result I always wash those pills down with a beer just to find out.
"I am waiting to see someone paid to develop instructions for the use of toilet paper to be printed on each sheet...."
ReplyDeleteBoth sides? ;)
"The mind (well mine, at any rate) boggles how they would re-word "Do not take orally" on a suppository..."
Or depict it pictorially!
"I say leave the labels alone and let Darwin decide..."
:D
"Perhaps not clear enough?"
LOL!
But it's true, it's almost impossible to write something that cannot be misunderstood or misinterpreted by someone somewhere.
"Is it just me .. or is anyone else sick & tired of being subjected to the "Third Degree" and being issued with a set of instructions by some over-weight, over-made-up Doris .. with a "Health Care Assistant" (my arse, she's a shop assistant .. no more, no less) badge pinned to her tabard..."
ReplyDeleteYes, you certainly aren't alone there.
"My local purveyor of pills 'n potions has a notice on the counter giving the name of the "Responsible Pharmacist on duty"
So I asked whether other three staff in the dispensary were 'irresponsible.' "
Heh!
"Jack Dee solves it all"
:D
"Remember that instructions should be incapable of being misunderstood."
See Mijolner's whisky example. It is impossible to write something that cannot be misunderstood.
"This policy seems to fit the bill..."
At the risk of making the perfect the enemy of the good, I'll agree with Lynne's comment. Don't we want to weed out the wilfully stupid, rather than further encourage them?
Why do 'they' put road safety homilies (such as 'Keep your eyes on the road') several meters above ground level, on acute bends, and using several lines of very small print?
ReplyDeleteIt's not stupidity, it is ignorance. They just have a lousy education and never paid attention. Words of more than one syllable are meaningless as they never use such words to communicate amongst themselves. Society has been dumbed down.
ReplyDelete