Meeting consumer demands for analgesics.

Responsible self-medication provides a positive health outcome for the individual and benefits for society as a whole. Nonprescription analgesics are among the most widely used drugs for self-medication, playing a key role in the management of a number of common disorders. While ensuring that the benefits of self-medication are available to consumers and to society, it is important to acknowledge the potential risks inherent in the widespread and unsupervised use of medicines. Along with drugs that are well tolerated and effective in normal use, responsible self-medication depends on providing consumers with the information they need to use drugs appropriately in a proven usable form, and it can benefit from the advice and guidance offered by health care professionals.