What to do with expired medicines? Advice from an expert

When last did a headache have you reaching into your medicine cabinet – and finding a bottle of aspirin that expired three years ago? Did you take it anyway? And, if you decided instead to get rid of those out-of-date painkillers, how did you do it? If you chose to throw it in the garbage or flush it down the toilet, you’re far from alone: a 2020 research review found that “disposal of pharmaceuticals by garbage and sewer is still the most common method in many countries with the absence of the proper disposal of expired medications from the patient side”.

The problem is that both using expired medication and disposing of it unsafely comes with significant health, economic and environmental risks.

The Conversation Africa asked pharmacy professor Renier Coetzee, who is also the vice-president of the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa, about the risks posed by using expired medication, and how to safely dispose of expired and surplus medicines.

Why is it dangerous to take expired medication?

Expiration dates for medicines are determined through stability testing. This involves assessing how long a medicine remains safe and effective under various storage conditions. Manufacturers typically provide conservative estimates of expiration dates to ensure a medicine’s quality and safety.

Medications degrade over time. That means they may not work...

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