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Drug prices: In fairness it works both ways. In the US Motilium is only available at a compound pharmacy as it has not been fully approved by the FDA.

It is prescribed for people who have trouble breastfeeding and a month's supply is upwards of $300 (€211). Zovirax is another example. Also not available OTC in the US, but must be prescribed and runs at around $17 (€12)! Sure you can buy giant bottles of Advil (ibuprofen) and Tylenol (paracetamol) for a few bucks, but in general prescription drugs will cost a LOT more, hence the huge rise in buying drugs online and smuggling them in from Canada and Mexico. Say what you want about our public healthcare system, but the fact that you will never have to pay more than €80 per month on prescription medication is a huge relief to many people! Deborah

Deborah, I think you should look to comparing prices in the EU against our prices here; after all, we're supposed to be part of the same market yet the Zovirax you quote sells for about €2.50 in Spain (well known as the cheapest place to buy it) and is extortionately priced here. What irks me is that a phenomenal amount of the pharmaceutical industry's production is based in Ireland yet we pay prices as if it were a luxury item being flown in from afar. This is just another example of an industry that protects its high prices through outdated and convoluted legislation. Paul M