American residing within the UK shocked over limits on drugs purchases
An American woman living in the UK has revealed her shock over a common medicine that Brits are not permitted to buy in larger quantities.
Lisa Dollan, who goes by @yorkshirepeach on TikTok, moved from Georgia, U.S., to Yorkshire and creates lighthearted video content about culture shocks she experiences.
In one video shared to her page, the content creator discusses over-the-counter medication with restricted purchase limits in the UK – namely Ibuprofen and paracetamol.
The clip, which has since amassed over 240,000 likes and over 3000 comments, includes a caption that reads: ‘American in the UK. This SHOCKS me now.’
Pointing to an inset photograph of a large bottle of Ibuprofen, Dollan shares her disbelief over the amount of tablets one can legally buy in the UK compared with United States.
Pointing to an inset photograph of a large bottle of Ibuprofen, Lisa Dollan shares her disbelief over the amount of tablets you can legally buy in the UK versus the States
Dollan said: ‘Since I moved to the UK, thinking back, I just think it’s weird that this is how we sell Ibuprofen back home.
‘Over here, you can buy 16, maybe up to 32 tablets and two packets – at home, you can buy 1000 tablets in one go.’
She added: ‘I don’t even think there’s a limit on how many bottles of these you can buy. That’s just not normal.’
According to GOV.UK, it is against the law for UK retailers to sell more than 100 tablets or capsules of either paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin in any one transaction, as long as the packets only contain 16 tablets.
Pharmacies across the UK are restricted to selling up to 32 tablets to a single person under the supervision of a pharmacist, and while some retailers limit a purchase to two packets, it is individual store policy.
According to the UK government, the limit is a ‘reasonable balance between meeting a customer’s immediate need for pain relief while helping to minimise stockpiling and accidental or impulsive overdose.’
Meanwhile, in the United States, it is common to buy Advil, Midol and Motrin – the main brands of Ibuprofen – in bottles of 50, 200 and 300 capsules.
According to GOV.UK, it is against the law for UK retailers to sell more than 100 tablets or capsules of either paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin in any one transaction
Dollan said: ‘Over here, you can buy 16, maybe up to 32 tablets and two packets – at home, you can buy 1000 tablets in one go’
Thousands of comments poured in from both Brits and Americans who shared their personal insights into medication regulation
Thousands of viewers from both sides of the Atlantic weighed in on the differences of medication regulations in each nation.
One person wrote: ‘We didn’t used to have a limit, but they brought it in to try to reduce ease of people unaliving.’
Another confirmed: ‘The limits here are to stop intentional overdosing. In America many have a quicker, easier access to guns to unalive themselves.’
A third added, ‘As a nurse that’s a bit worrying! Risk of stomach ulcers, kidney disease with prolonged use without monitoring as well as ODs’ while a fourth said: ‘Mind blowing I tried to buy three packs of paracetamol and they told me no.’
Another speculated: ‘They are known to give stomach issues. You pay for treatment in the US, so take as many as you like and get more issues = more money.’
It comes after another American woman living in the UK, 26-year-old Haley Horton, revealed all of the things she thinks Brits do wrong.
