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Radical changes are taking place in the United Kingdom in relation to the classification of, and access to, medicines. More and more medicines are being made available over the counter both in local pharmacies and in supermarkets. The provision of more open access to medicines may be hailed as a triumph for patient autonomy. This paper examines whether such a claim is real or illusory. It explores the ethical and legal implications of deregulating medicines. Do patients benefit? What is the impact on pharmacists? Are the true beneficiaries of change largely the pharmaceutical industries? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents news briefs related to medical ethics as of April 2000. Publication of a parliamentary bill entitled Medical Treatment by the Great Britain government on January 18, 2000; Joint consultation document on preimplantation genetic diagnosis issued by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology and Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing on November 1999; Revision of the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki for the ethics of medical research on humans.