asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of growing concern among parents and some chemists in relation to the easy availability of cough mixtures which contain certain types of drugs which are open to abuse by young people; and if he will consider the introduction of stricter control in these circumstances.

I would refer the Deputy to my reply to a similar question by him on 13 May 1980. The preparations involved are normally available only from pharmacies. In this connection the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland have alerted all pharmacists to the need to exercise caution in the sale of these preparations, especially to young persons. The society recently issued a set of rules to be observed in regard to the manner in which cough mixtures are displayed in pharmacies and outlining certain precautions to be taken in connection with their sale to the public.

Having regard to these measures I do not consider that the imposition of stricter legal control is warranted at this stage but I am keeping the position under constant review.

In view of the increasing evidence from all sources that this is a problem, is the Minister satisfied with the present situation which is completely based on voluntary efforts and on the goodwill of the pharmacists? Presumably, there is this goodwill in most cases, though clearly not in all. Therefore, is there not a need for some kind of monitoring of the situation by the Department?

The situation is monitored, and monitored perhaps in more detail than the Deputy recognises. But it is not possible, given the great number of these substances which used for their normal purposes are quite harmless, to implement very tight regulations in respect of all of them. Also, it becomes a matter of increased cost if one tries to do that. The number of cases of abuses of cough mixture reported to the treatment centre at Jervis Street hospital was 41 in 1980 and 26 up to August of 1981. The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland have alerted their members to the situation and they operate fairly strict regulations in relation to the question of making sure that these cough bottles are not displayed in windows and are given out by supervised staff. They recommend that there should not be unaided selection by the customer and they have issued particularly strong guidelines to their pharmacists in this area.

I assume that the Minister is not basing this fairly complacent attitude on the number of cases reported to Jervis Street. Is he aware that some of these cough mixtures are available in supermarkets who do not necessarily conform to the requests of the pharmaceutical society? What is the process of monitoring that the Minister speaks about in regard to this area?

The Department keep in contact with the pharmacists and monitor the number of cases of abuse that occur. Generally, they are reviewing the position.

How many people are involved in this monitoring process?

If the Deputy tables a separate question to that affect, I shall let him have the information.

But that is the question. I asked the Minister if he would be good enough to let me know if he is aware that some of these cough mixtures are available in supermarkets but the Minister is relying for his answer on a reference to pharmacists.

I presume that the Deputy is referring to pharmacies within supermarkets.

I am not.

In so far as any substance is brought to light by way of review as being open to potential abuse, we will look at the question of how it is distributed. I take the point raised by the Deputy that some brands of cough mixture may be available to supermarkets and, consequently, do not come within the control of pharmacists. That is an aspect of the matter that we will look at in addition to what the pharmacists have been asked to do already.

Since the Minister accepts now the possibility of some of these cough mixtures being available without any kind of control or monitoring, can he assure the House that he will act with urgency in the matter?

As I have pointed out, these substances are quite harmless when used in the normal way.

So is a gun harmless.

As are many other substances that are normally on sale. I do not wish to mention all of those since they would be added to the list outside.

Many of the ordinary substances used in the home and elsewhere can be abused. Unfortunately, this sort of abuse is increasing. We shall look at the question of the distribution of any cough mixture that may be causing a problem in terms of being abused.