Flu medicine being sold without restriction after new system collapses in trial operation

An effort to curb the amount of flu medication sold over the counter had to be abandoned on Sunday after a new computer system collapsed in trial operation. According to an amendment to the law which took effect on May 1st, flu medicine containing pseudoefedrine such as Coldrex or Stopgrip, should only be sold to people in small amounts on the basis of a health insurance card and ID. The move is an attempt to curb abuse of the substance in the production of the illegal street drug pervitin. However the system collapsed within hours of being launched and in the face of growing complaints from the public pharmacies are once again selling flu medication without restriction.

Aside from the technical problems, the new law is controversial. It involves putting personal data into a central evidence system and some pharmacies have refused to use it for fear of violating the privacy law. The matter is being investigated by the Office for Protection of Private Data.