Cosmetic Talc Under Scrutiny As Liability Buzzards Circle

The evidence underpinning the “polluter pays” principle of the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive - which calls on Europe's pharmaceutical industry to cough up at least 80% of the cost of updating wastewater treatment facilities - is looking increasingly shaky, according to a new report.

Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment says that there is "no evidence that people with androgenetic alopecia have special dietary needs or a special nutrient requirement.”

An application for melatonin as an OTC medicine is on the agenda for the next German switch committee meeting, despite the hormone being widely available in food supplements. Acyclovir as a buccal tablet and second-generation antihistamine rupatadine are also up for discussion.

Engaging with EU member state legislators, stressing the impact of national EPR systems on the accessibility, availability, and affordability of medicines, reformulating products to reduce their financial contribution, and lobbying for expanding the scope of EPR schemes to include other polluting industries are all ways that the European consumer health industry can try and influence the way that the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive is transposed into national legislation, law firm Mason Hayes & Curran explains.