Propoxyphene has a relatively long shelf life. Prescribed cap- sules have an expiry date stamped on each card and this is usually 2 or 3 years into the future. Although this provides only a rough guide, in the absence of any available testing of the drug, it is the only indication one has. Capsules that have reached their expiry date should be treated with caution (See Chapter 8 for a discussion on shelf life).
The Future of Propoxyphene
Propoxyphene faces an uncertain future. The withdrawal of the drug from the prescription schedule in the UK in early 2005 has led to the commissioning of a report on possible similar restrictions in Australia.
In 2005, the media reported that the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration would be undertaking a new review of the safety of the drug. This, they said, followed the decision by the British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to withdraw the drug from the prescription schedule (National Prescribing Centre, 2006).
In the UK it has been reported that drugs which contain Pro- poxyphene have been responsible for up to 400 accidental or intentional overdose deaths each year. The US has recently been petitioned to ban all propoxyphene products (Public Citi- zen 2006). It is to be expected that propoxyphene will become an increasingly difficult drug to obtain in the future.