PETITIONClosedPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Review the sale of over the counter codeine
A review could explore the feasibility of a system in which a notification is sent through to the patient's GP surgery. This way, there'd be a better audit trail for how many times someone purchases this medication. This could then be looked at if the patient is buying the medication regularly.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
292
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 292/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 292/100,000
Background
I believe the current system for buying over the counter codeine is flawed. It seems easy to buy as I feel there isn't an effective audit trail. I think this could be contributing to opioid addictions. I believe that the pharmacy and the manufacturer have a duty of care to all patients purchasing this medication and that the system should be tightened up in order to help stop the misuse of codeine. I think this could ultimately save lives.