Keep Yourself Safe

Health and Safety legislation does not preclude the consumers’ role, and responsibility, in ensuring the safety of products and his/her environment. A product, or a particular environment, that is compliant to all applicable legislation may still be dangerous if used incorrectly. The main objective of this section is to provide some safety tips and advice that safeguard the health and safety of persons, utilizing products, and in certain environments.

In this section

Safety when using products

There is no doubt that everybody would like to keep himself/herself and their loved ones safe. The amount of Regulations and Directives appears to be overwhelming, however, one must appreciate that the aim and objective of this legislation is to achieve the highest level of safety possible. Read more

Regulation & Safety of medicines

The pharmaceutical sector is extensively regulated at both EU level and locally. Such regulation aims to protect public health while striving towards a single market for pharmaceuticals. The Director General Health and Consumers [http://ec.europa.eu/health/index_en.htm], under the European Commission, is the EU (Community) entity that is responsible for this sector, while in Malta such responsibilities, apart from pricing, fall under the Medicines Authority [http://medicinesauthority.gov.mt] Additionally, the European Union established a decentralised body, namely the European Medicines Agency [http://www.ema.europa.eu], in order to ensure the highest possible level of public health protection. The functions of this agency may also be viewed on its website. Read more

Safety Tips

Following is some simple and practical advice in respect to the safety of medicines and their handling: • Keep medicines in their original containers / packaging. Containers/packaging of medicines may have various functions, for instance, protection from microbial contamination and “child-proof” characteristics. Hence, one should not tamper with the original packaging and/or remove the medicines from such packaging, as medicines would possibly cause infection and may also become more accessible to children. Read more