Episode 180 of Down to Business
Published Dec 14, 2022 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read
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A sign on empty shelves in the children’s cough and cold section of a pharmacy in Timmons, Ont., tells shoppers they will be limited to one product per customer. Photo by NICOLE STOFFMAN/Postmedia Last spring, Canada started experiencing a shortage of children’s Tylenol, which soon morphed into a shortage of children’s ibuprofen.
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As children spiked dangerously high fevers, many parents had no option but to race to emergency rooms — where there was no Tylenol or fever reducers.
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This week’s episode of Down to Business features Mina Tadrous, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, who discusses how the incident put a new strain on Canada’s health care system.
Tadrous debunked the notion that Tylenol was in short supply because the boxes lacked french instructions. Nor is it a short-term hangover from the pandemic.
Rather, Tadrous cast it as a symptom of the fragile, opaque pharmaceutical supply chain that has created shortages of thousands of drugs. It’s just that none of those drugs are used as commonly as Tylenol, he said.
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He expects shortages will continue to grow in the future until a more comprehensive plan is developed and implemented. As if on cue, children’s Tylenol arrived back on shelves in Canada last month, and now parts of the U.S. face shortages.
As always the interviews are edited for clarity and brevity.
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• Email: gfriedman@postmedia.com | Twitter: GabeFriedz
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