While in Bangkok earlier this year, I was able to purchase certain American prescription drugs 'over-the-counter' and for a fraction of the US costs. Is this possible in Sydney or Melbourne? Are there 'Boots Chemists' shops down under?

No we do not have Boots Chemists - we have our own home grown Chemist shops which are as good as, if not better, than Boots. <BR>The over-the-counter drugs you got in Bangkok is because they don't have quality control there in drugs and more often than not those drugs are out of date. <BR>We have stricter controls here in Australia than in the USA, as an example. We also have plenty of medical centres that you can go to should you need a prescription for any medication. Self diagnosis is not a good thing at the best of times.

Liz - thanks for your response. This is not a self-diagnosis. I am presently taking Premarin (hormone replacement therapy) and the same pills were sold in Bangkok, in blister-packs and dated for 1/3 the US price. I would never purchase expired drugs.

A.J. I suggest you check with your physician concerning Premarin. Recent news is that the US Government has dropped endorsement of the drug claiming its potential damage could do more harm than its supposed benefits.

It figures a man would make those comments. The drug is perfectly safe. Don't believe everything the press says.

I'm a doctor and I often travel to S.E. Asia for both business and pleasure. The prescription medicine sold in Thailand through most chemist are not out of date or are they of inferior quality. They are cheaper because of the market, or patients, are of lower income then in the US or Europe. The only problem that you might have would be if you were buying medicines from unreputable places.<BR><BR>

In defence of Bill, who thought to tell you that Premarin has come under a cloud, he is quite right to say what he did because it has been found that Premarin taken for more than a period of 6 months has risks that you may not want to take. <BR>I was thinking more in terms of antibiotics which can be obtained in Bangkok and where people may buy them when they are inappropriate for the particular illness they have. <BR>Australia still insists on their own testing even if the FDA has given the green light to most drugs. If you were Australian you would be able to get Premarin on the PBS ( subsidised scheme) but you may wish to bring an extra lot with you so that you don't have to get a prescription. For some reason I thought that you were from the UK whereupon you would have reciprocity for subsidised prescription drugs.

AJ-<BR>We were able to buy several prescription drugs as 'pharmacist prescribed drugs' in Chemist shops in Australia. I think this is because the pharmacist explains how they are used, so it is a level sort of in-between doctor-prescribed and over the counter. there was no extra charge for them, and they were quite a bit cheaper than in Hawaii- with the exchange rate it worked out to be about 30% of the US price. I also bought tons of OTC drugs and medical supplies, simply due to the exchange rate benefits. I liked some of them (the Hairy Lemon vitamins and the zinc throat lozenges) so much I have my brother airmail them to me now. Not cheap, but great stuff!