Policies, laws, and regulations pertaining to antibiotics: report of Task Force 3.

A questionnaire survey-based study of 41 countries was conducted to determine the nature and extent of policies, laws, and regulations governing the prescription, sale, and use of antibacterial agents and the enforcement of and compliance with such policies, laws, and regulations. On the basis of responses adequate for analysis that were received from 35 countries, three groups were identified according to the availability of antibacterial agents to the general public in a country. In one group, access by the general public to these agents was severely restricted, and restrictions were effectively enforced. In the second group, restrictions were less stringent, and enforcement was less effective. In the third group, access was unrestricted. Still to be determined is whether this grouping bears any relation to patterns of antibacterial use, resistance to antibacterial agents, and other factors pertaining to the use of these drugs.