[tecleandor]

I'm surprised that there is anybody still taking seriously "lie detectors". It's just stress provoking tricks.

About ibuprofen, here in Spain (and I think the whole Europe), it's BTC (no prescription) until 400mg. Over 400mg you need a prescription. And when it's pills/capsules, it's sold in pill sheets (is that the name?) individually sealed.

I think everything register as a medicine in Europe has to be BTC.

Of course, as you say, everything else is on the other side of the counter, so you could be poisoning bananas or chocolate.

[rootsudo]

Which doesn’t make sense to me - no one is stopping you from taking two 400mg ibuprofen to make 800mg, etc.

I agree that 400mg is sensible dosage for one pill, but you buy a pill sheet of ten , you get 4000mg.

But what is the other solution just put everything being a prescription?

As for the lie detector test, in the USA it is federally required for sensitive jobs and roles - while it isn’t criminally admissible , denying one and having a bad PR team can spell public disaster but for sensitive top secret jobs, etc it is required 100%.

[jjcob]

Most people will realise that taking 4 pills is probably too much, but people will take two without thinking much.

[b112]

I think it's more of an anti-stupid thing.

Where I am, pharmacists will often talk to you about each first-time prescription, describing when and how often to take pills. You don't get that via non-prescription, so dosage control is a hacky fix for people that won't read labels.

It's also "smallest person" thing. If you're 2M tall and muscular (eg, more mass), your dose isn't the same as a 160cm person with little mass. The doses are for the smaller person, for safety.

[chris-orgmenta]

Agree.

I suppose I should clarify that I am aware that the incident was from '82 and that LDTs are no longer admissible in many jurisdictions, and new legislation came in for tamper-proofing medicine which affected not just the US.

But regardless, argument being "things haven't moved on enough - lie detectors are still used in some places, people still misinterpret what they are, and our supply chain still only discourages, rather than prevents, mischief"

[xmodem]

This was something that surprised me traveling in Spain a few years back - that I had to ask a pharmacist to buy paracetamol. This wasn't the case anywhere else I've been in Europe (Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Sweden).

[pacificmint]

> it's sold in pill sheets (is that the name?)

They are often referred to as Blister Packs.

[tecleandor]

Thanks!

[kyleee]

Blister pack is the term you are referencing

[tecleandor]

Thanks!