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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
As of April 2, advertising to the general public for medicines containing 400 mg of ibuprofen will be prohibited. The reaction to this announcement from the Medicines Agency from Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo.
The announcement is made by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM): “Consumer advertising for medicines containing 400mg ibuprofen will be banned from April 2“. The reason: an increase in “serious adverse effects related to the dose of ibuprofen [anti-inflammatoire]“.
This concerns in particular Advil, Nurofen, Spedifen and generics, all sold without a prescription. A decision which, specifies the health authority, “does notdoes not call into question the positive benefit-risk balance of these drugs.
An announcement that concerns television, newspapers but also the Internet
The ANSM is therefore concerned about the advertisements broadcast in the media for ibuprofen 400mg, denouncing the easy use of this drug for self-medication, at such a dosage. She recalls that the recommendations are to “favor taking ibuprofen dosed at 200 mg as first intention“, and considers that this decision is recorded in “the continuity of [ses] actions in favor of the proper use of these medications available without a prescription and commonly used (…) in cases of pain or fever“. The media concerned are therefore television, but also newspapers and the Internet.
Reports of serious adverse effects on the rise
The ANSM’s decision is motivated by the increase in reports of serious adverse effects, “related to the dose of ibuprofen, in particular gastro-digestive bleeding and kidney damage”.
She notes that these harmful effects “o“has increased in parallel with the number of advertisements to the general public for ibuprofen 400 mg and the sales of these medicines containing ibuprofen 400 mg.” To secure its use, “in continuation of the measures taken in recent years” – such as the ban on their free access in 2019 – the ANSM decides this time to ban advertising.
What is an alternative to ibuprofen?
This observation is confirmed by Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo. ‘”This is a good decision, because ibuprofen should not be taken as self-medication. It is an effective medication, but it has some side effects, including a weakening of the immune system. he describes. “Patients who take it for example for a dental problem may develop an abscess..
Ibuprofen is also a nephrotoxic molecule, that is to say toxic to the kidneys. “People with kidney failure and diabetics must therefore take it on medical advice, just like pregnant women.” estimates the doctor.
For Dr Gérald Kierzek, the solution, when you want to take pain medication, remains paracetamol. “In self-medication, it remains the molecule which presents the least risks.