National Pharmacy Association advice on packs of Co-codamol 8/500 tablets containing rogue Co-codamol 30/500 tablets.

The National Pharmacy Association is advising patients who take co-codamol 8mg/500mg to check their medicines after the wrong strength of a tablet has been found inside a pack. 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued the drug alert today to healthcare professionals after some packs in a batch of co-codamol 8mg/500mg strength tablets manufactured by Wockhardt UK Ltd have been found to contain the higher strength co-codamol 30mg/500mg product.

Anyone that has co-codamol in their medicines cabinet should check to see if they have a pack from the affected batch number, LL11701, with an expiry date of September 2014. The batch was first distributed on 30 December 2011 and packs contain 32 tablets. This information can be found on the product packaging.

Anyone concerned about their medication can check the strength of their medicine by checking markings:

 •The 8mg / 500mg tablets will be marked on one side as <AB>

•The 30mg/500mg tablets will be marked on one side as CCD30 and marked as CP on the other side

Leyla Hannbeck, Head of Information at the National Pharmacy Association said:

“If you have a packet that is affected, take it to your pharmacy and they will be able to replace it for you. The amount of paracetamol contained in each preparation is the same, however, patients who received this batch of tablets may have taken more codeine then intended. Patients who have taken 30mg instead of 8mg of codeine may find that they experience increased side effects, such as constipation, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, light-headedness, confusion, drowsiness and urinary retention. Patients can also develop tolerance and dependence with prolonged high doses of codeine, and where patients have taken a higher dose than intended, they may be more at risk of this and should be referred to the GP for assessment.

“If you are in any doubt, ask your pharmacist for more information and advice.”

Co-codamol is the name given to the combination medicine which contains paracetamol and codeine.

For further information, please contact the NPA Press Office on 01727 795901 or 07920 203051, or email communications@npa.co.uk.

The NPA is the UK’s leading trade body for community pharmacy.  Its core purpose is to represent, support and protect the interests of all community pharmacy across the UK.