Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 10 July (HL16834), what steps the Ministry of Defence has taken to address the concerns of the European Medicines Agency Pharmacovigilance Assessment Committee 2014 report on the toxicity of mefloquine (Lariam); and if they have not taken any such steps, why not.

Anti-malarial drugs are prescribed to Service personnel with the UK product information leaflet. For mefloquine, this reflects the recommendations of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee of the European Medicines Agency.

All anti-malarial drugs have contraindications and a side effect profile which can be found in the British National Formulary or online at the Electronic Medicines Compendium. It is Ministry of Defence policy that healthcare professionals undertake a health risk assessment and to warn patients of the possible side effects of any anti-malarial drug.