A reminder that there are requirements for combination and non-combination products.
In 2025, Health Canada issued an Order Establishing Supplementary Rules Respecting the Sale of Natural Health Products Containing Ephedrine or Pseudoephedrine. In place of this order, Health Canada has amended the Precursor Control Regulations (PCR) to reflect these requirements.
The requirements have not changed and pharmacies shouldn’t need to make changes in how they are currently storing and selling these products. Pharmacies must continue to ensure that
- Non-combination ephedrine and/or pseudoephedrine products (i.e., single-entity products) must be sold by a pharmacist (or an individual working under the supervision of a pharmacist).
- These products must be behind the counter at a pharmacy, similar to the storage and some of the sale requirements of Schedule 2 products (not accessible to the public).
- These products do not require additional Schedule 2 product sale requirements, such as an assessment of appropriateness or a documentation of sale on the patient record.
- Combination ephedrine and/or pseudoephedrine products can be sold at the pharmacy in the self-selection area, where a pharmacist is available, at the request of a purchaser or consumer, to discuss the product prior to purchase, similar to the storage and sale requirements of a Schedule 3 product.
- These products need to be treated like any other Schedule 3 drug and locked up when the pharmacist is not available.
The regulations limit the sale of these natural health products to only be available to pharmacies. This is achieved by prohibiting the sale of these natural health products (i.e., by wholesalers or other distributors) to retail stores that are not pharmacies.
