EU Harmonization For Greek OTCs

The Greek market for over-the-counter drugs is gray and flexible, withmany provisions of the July 1993 law harmonizing European Union and Greek legislation on the categorization of pharmaceuticals still not in force.

One of the main reasons for the problem lies in a dispute over translation and semantics; the law translates OTC as "non-prescribable," eg nonethical. Pharmacists prefer to use another translation: "drugs that do not have to be prescribed," eg semi-ethical. Categorizing more products as "non-ethical" would lead to an increase in self-medication which, while saving the state money, would squeeze pharmacists' margins.