Availability of medicines

Medicines, approved for use in the UK, are categorised and made available in one of three ways.

  • General sale list (GSL) medicines can be bought, for example, in a supermarket. They are suitable for sale and normal use without supervision or advice from a pharmacist or doctor.
  • Pharmacy (P) medicines can only be obtained from a pharmacy and are sold under the supervision of a pharmacist. (You will see the sale assistant show the medicine to the pharmacist when you buy it.)
  • Prescription only medicines (POM) must be prescribed by a doctor, a dentist or exceptionally, another qualified health professional. These should not be bought over the Internet.


Page last modified: 17 October 2005