Targeted pain relief - a scam ?

[Warrigal]

A company behind the pain killer known here a Nurofen is being sued over its policy of selling identical product in different coloured boxes and pretending that they are different.

The specific pain range is also sold for double the cost of the standard painkiller.

JUST a reminder: no, the pink packet doesn’t actually target period pain.
Drug maker Reckitt Benckiser could be facing millions of dollars in fines for allegedly misleading consumers with its multicoloured Nurofen packs.
RB is being sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over claims that its four Nurofen Specific Pain products — Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain, and Nurofen Tension Headache — are each formulated to treat that specific kind of pain, when in fact the products are identical.


In documents filed with the Federal Court this morning, the ACCC alleges the conduct is misleading and deceptive, as the caplets in all four products contain the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg.

The Specific Pain range is sold for retail prices of around double that of Nurofen’s standard ibuprofen products and the standard products of its competitors. Chemist Warehouse, for example, sells a 24-pack of Nurofen Back Pain for $10.99, while a 24-pack of Nurofen 200mg sells for $4.69.

The ACCC alleges that RB made representations on the Nurofen packaging and on its website that each product: was designed and formulated to treat a particular type of pain; had specific efficacy in treating a particular type of pain; and solely treated a particular type of pain.
In fact, each of the four products is registered with the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods with the same approved indication, covering a wide variety of pain types.

ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said the watchdog takes false or misleading claims about the efficacy of health and medical products very seriously, with truth in advertising and consumer issues in the sector flagged as key priorities for 2015.

What is the situation in the US? Is this a common practice and do we all have to read the packets on non prescription drugs more carefully?

 

[drifter]

Reminds of the carnival barker or the very old Medicine Show. A scam is a scam wherever.

 

[Catraoine]

No pain relief that you can buy over the counter goes to a specific area and hardly any prescription drugs do either. All the drugs do is to stop the brain from sending out pain signals. We need them as how else would we know that there is something wrong. Pain is a signal not a condition. Seeing commercials that show someone with severe back pain , then taking a pill and going to play tennis is harmful and very dangerous for those that belief it is okay to do this.

 

[SifuPhil]

I've seen a series of commercials starting up here, with the name of UrgentRX; they are powders in a small foil packet that you take orally, and they come in several supposed symptoms -

• Headache Relief To-Go™
• Heartburn Relief To-Go™
• Allergy Attack Relief To-Go™
• Upset Stomach Relief To-Go™
• Ache & Pain Relief To-Go™
• Critical Care Aspirin To-Go™

I suspect it's the same scam, as their website doesn't give ingredients. Same with another brand called something like EmergencRX.

 

[Butterfly]

No pain relief that you can buy over the counter goes to a specific area and hardly any prescription drugs do either. All the drugs do is to stop the brain from sending out pain signals. We need them as how else would we know that there is something wrong. Pain is a signal not a condition. Seeing commercials that show someone with severe back pain , then taking a pill and going to play tennis is harmful and very dangerous for those that belief it is okay to do this.

I wish we could turn off the signals when we've got the message! When I dislocated my shoulder last fall and was in the ER, I sure was glad to see the nice lady coming with the morphine!