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Paracetamol: Pay 19p or five times more for a big brand?

A look at which is better at treating pain

[Fotolia]
[Fotolia]

In Sainsbury’s right now you can buy 16 own-brand paracetamol for 30p, which is 2p a tablet. Or you can buy 16 big brand tablets for £1.25, which works out at 8p a pill. Both these tablets contain identical levels of active ingredient – the actual medicine that makes you feel better.

So why does one cost four-times as much, and does that mean it’s better at treating your pain?

Pricey pills

It’s the same across a variety of medications; 100ml of Calpol Original costs £3.15, while 100ml of Sainsbury’s Junior Paracetamol Suspension costs £1.90. Meanwhile a packet of 16 paracetamol from Asda costs 19p, but you’ll pay £1 for just 12 branded pills from the same shop.

And at Tesco, 16 own-brand paracetamol cost 23p, while Anadin Paracetamol costs £1.20 – far more per pill than the supermarket-own brand.

Then there’s hayfever treatment; one supermarket sells its own brand for £1.50 for 14, while a top brand also on its shelves costs £5.50 for the same number of pills.

But here’s the thing; those pills all contain the same amount of active ingredient – you can check that information on the back of each packet. And that means that some people are willing to pay more than three-to-five-times as much for a branded pill.

Are they better?

It’s easy to assume that the more expensive pills must do a better job if they cost so much more. However, Colin Cable, pharmaceutical science information adviser at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, explained: “Regulatory authorities who license medicines strictly control generic medicines to ensure they are equivalent to the branded product.  Generics must contain the same drug at the same strength, the same dosage form e.g. be a tablet, and given by the same route of administration e.g. taken orally, as the branded product.”

He concluded: “The steps involved in licensing generic medicines ensure they are made to the same high standards as branded products. They have the same levels of safety and quality as branded products and produce the same therapeutic effect.”

So on the surface it looks as if it’s simply sensible to buy the cheaper product as long as it contains the same amount of active ingredient. Except that it’s also worth considering the placebo effect. And this is where it gets weird…

Could our minds make branded pills work better?

It’s all well and good saying that we shouldn’t pay more for pills containing identical active ingredients to the cheaper kind, but unfortunately the placebo effect defies rationality.

A study conducted more than 30 years ago showed that branded tablets worked better at relieving headaches than non-branded tablets – despite the medicine being precisely the same. Even when patients were given sugar pills the same effect was observed; the power of the placebo effect meant the pills helped reduce pain, but again the branded pills worked better.

Dr Mike Eslea, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Central Lancashire explained to Yahoo that the power of placebo can be heavily influenced by the look of the pills taken, with coloured pills working better than white ones, and oval pills being more effective than round pills.

“So yes, if there is less impressive packaging on an own-brand tablet then you’re getting the same specific effects but less of the placebo effect,” he acknowledges.

“I don’t want to tell readers to go out and buy the most expensive treatment, just on moral grounds. However, it probably is true that with the luxury headache tablets, the gold-plated kind, you probably would get a greater placebo kick.”

The good news is that Dr Elsea says even the act of seeking treatment can result in someone feeling better: “There’s also the effect of the actual investment you’ve made; you’ve committed time or money to get the treatment – this motivates you to feel better, you want to believe it works. That’s a really powerful psychological motivator and it’s different to the placebo effect.”

Warning

Before you simply switch to the cheaper brand, there are some important safety concerns to consider. You should check the ingredients to make sure that you’re getting the right dose of active ingredients, and also to make sure there are no allergy issues with the ingredients in the cheaper product.

If you find a branded drug at a knockdown price then make sure you check the use-by date on the packet. If you plan to use the internet to find cheaper treatments then it’s also a good idea to only shop at legitimate and respected online pharmacies.

What do you think? Do you buy the pricier pills or the cheapest option? Have your say using the comments below.