Medicines Act 1975 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Further Provisions Relating to Dealings with Medicinal Products
32. Protection of purchasers of medicinal products
Feedback & supportA person must not, to the prejudice of the purchaser, sell any medicinal product which is not of the nature or quality demanded by the purchaser.
sell
“sell” includes barter, and also includes offering or attempting to sell, or receiving for sale, or having in possession for sale, or exposing for sale, or sending or delivering for sale, or causing or allowing to be sold, offered or exposed for sale, and “sale” and “sold” have corresponding meanings;
For the purposes of this section the sale of a medicinal product must not be taken to be otherwise than to the prejudice of the purchaser by reason only that the purchaser buys the product for the purpose of analysis or examination.
analysis
“analysis” includes micro-biological assay and “analyse” has a corresponding meaning;
Subsection (1) must not be taken to be contravened by reason only that a medicinal product contains some extraneous matter, if it is proved that the presence of that matter was an inevitable consequence of the process of manufacture of the product.
manufacture
“manufacture”, in relation to a medicinal product, includes any process carried out in the course of making the product, but does not include dissolving or dispersing the product in, or diluting or mixing it with, some other substance used as a vehicle for the purpose of administering it;
Subsection (1) must not be taken to be contravened by reason only that a substance has been added to, or abstracted from, the medicinal product, if it is proved that —
substance
“substance” means any natural or artificial substance whether in solid or liquid form or in the form of gas or vapour;
the addition or abstraction was not carried out fraudulently, and did not injuriously affect the composition of the product; and
the product was sold having attached to it, or to a container or package in which it was sold, a conspicuous notice of adequate size and legibly printed, specifying the substance added or abstracted.
Where a medicinal product is sold or supplied pursuant to a prescription given by a practitioner, subsections (1) to (4) have effect as if —
in those provisions any reference to sale included a reference to supply and (except as provided by paragraph (b)) any reference to the purchaser included a reference to the person for whom the product was prescribed by the practitioner; and
in subsection (1), for the words “demanded by the purchaser”, there were substituted the words “specified in the prescription”.