4. Question No. 4—Health (Pharmac)TODD STEPHENSON (ACT) to the Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac)Question No. 4—Health (Pharmac)4. TODD STEPHENSON (ACT) to the Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac): What benefits if any can New Zealanders expect to see from the Misuse of Drugs (Pseudoephedrine) Amendment Bill?Hon DAVID SEYMOUR (Associate Minister of Health (Pharmac)): New Zealanders can indeed expect great benefits from the legalisation of pseudoephedrine cough and cold treatments. The most obvious is that when people get sick they will be able to get stuff that works not what is currently available which many people regard as being little better than a placebo. In addition to that it shows we have a Government that when a law doesn't work actually gets rid of it. It shows we have a Government that is prepared to try and make life better and easier for New Zealanders rather than constantly coming up with obstructions and objections.Todd Stephenson: Why does the Government think this law needs to be changed?Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: The law was put in place with the intention of stopping gangs supplying methamphetamine; unfortunately the law did not succeed. The evidence for that is that since pseudoephedrine cough and cold medicine has been denied from New Zealanders through an effective ban the price of P has actually gone down the availability has gone up and the volume consumed has gone up. The law simply has not worked and therefore we're getting rid of a law that doesn't work so that life can be better and easier for New Zealanders including getting better cough and cold medication.Todd Stephenson: Will the Government be keeping in place safeguards for the sale and supply of pseudoephedrine?Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: Yes indeed. The law change is a very simple one. It is changing pseudoephedrine from being a class B drug to a class C drug. There will still be significant restrictions around the importation storage and possession of pseudoephedrine within New Zealand. There will also be a change in the medicine's regulations so that pseudoephedrine goes from being a prescription-only drug to a restricted pharmaceutical. That means that while you will not need a prescription from a GP you will have to buy it directly from a pharmacist. These restrictions are designed to make sure that there are not negative spillovers from giving everyday New Zealanders the convenience of getting some decent cough and cold meds.Todd Stephenson: When will pseudoephedrine be back on the shelves in New Zealand providing effective treatments for Kiwis?Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: Well the exact timing depends on two things: first the Parliament changing the law and the Government making sure that the regulations are in place and Medsafe is prepared to give the approvals to the products—their approvals have lapsed since they were effectively banned over a decade ago; second it will depend on pharmaceutical companies making applications to Medsafe and being ready to sell the pharmaceuticals that people need by this winter when the most demand is in place. We've had official advice that that may not take place—the full availability—until 2025 but I can tell you that Medsafe myself and everyone on the Government side of this operation are doing everything we can to make sure that good cold and flu meds are on the shelves by this winter when people need them.