Declares that current pharmaceutical laws do not currently appear to force manufacturers of medicines and medical treatments, in particular creams, to add warnings to their product packaging about their toxicity to pets and other animals; notes that without these warnings pets and animals can be accidentally and unintentionally injured, suffer and die; further declares that the petitioner’s own pet cat suffered greatly, and died with four days, as a result of his application of Bayer's Germolene antiseptic cream to wounds of his cat’s face, further declares that warnings on products should clearly and emphatically state, in sufficiently large capital letters, that their products are “for human use only” and “Warning: this product is toxic to pets and animals.”
The Petitioner therefore requests that the House of Commons urge the Government to urgently introduce legislation that forces UK pharmaceutical companies, as well as those who import medicinal products to the UK, to clearly label any products which are toxic to pets and animals, with special regard to products which can lead to the death of pets and animals.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Official Report, 21 February 2023; Vol. 728, c. 1P.]
[P002803]
Observations from the Minister for Health and Secondary Care (Will Quince):
The labelling of licensed medicines in the UK must comply with the requirements set out in schedules 24 and 25 of the Human Medicines Regulations (2012). The control of medicines for animals and humans follows the principle that positive statements are made where use is for animals only. Human Medicines by default are clearly labelled with human dosage instructions only and a warning to indicate that the medicine is for human use only or that it may be toxic if used in animals is not required. If there is room on the labelling once the statutory information has been accommodated, there is scope to include extra-statutory text, provided this meets the relevant criteria. Any additional information included on labelling of Human Medicines must be consistent with the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) for the medicine in question, useful to the patient and non-promotional.