Aspirin 500mg / Codeine 8mg dispersible tablets sugar free
Lowest controls; includes some codeine preparations
Legal requirements and restrictions
Preparations containing controlled drugs in low concentrations. Subject to minimal controls - mainly invoicing requirements.
Legal requirements
- No special prescription requirements
- No controlled drugs register required
- No safe custody requirements
- Invoices must be retained for 2 years
Other medicines in this category
Codeine linctus, Co-codamol (low strength), Kaolin and morphine
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(1)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
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Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 6 · 1955–2025
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Andrew Moore, J H. McQuay
Pain, 1997
- Acetaminophen
- Analgesics, Opioid
- Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
Matthew Choi, Li Wang, Christopher J. Coroneos, et al.
Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2021
- Ambulatory Surgical Procedures
- Analgesics, Opioid
- Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
David G. Williams, D. J. Hatch, Richard F. Howard
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2001
- Analgesics, Opioid
- Codeine
- Pain, Postoperative
Rimadani Pratiwi, Eka Noviana, Rizky Fauziati, et al.
Molecules, 2021
- Chemistry Techniques, Analytical
- Codeine
S. Cooper, J. Engel, M. Ladov, et al.
Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, 1982
- Aspirin
- Clinical Trials as Topic
- Codeine
R. D. Wigley
BMJ, 1974
- Acetaminophen
- Arthritis, Rheumatoid
- Aspirin
John W. A. Findlay, Evelyn Jones, Robert F. Butz, et al.
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 1978
- Acetaminophen
- Aspirin
- Biotransformation
Morten Schmidt, Jesper Hallas, S. Friis
Clinical Epidemiology, 2014
Vadhel A, Bashir S, Mir AH, et al.
2023
- Papaver
- Neoplasms
- Alkaloids
Papaver somniferum L. (Family: Papaveraceae) is a species well known for its diverse alkaloids (100 different benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs)). L-tyrosine serves as a precursor of several specific metabolites like BIAs. It has been used as an antitussive and potent analgesic to alleviate mild to extreme pain since ancient times. The extraction of pharmaceutically important alkaloids like morphine and codeine from poppy plant reflects the need for the most suitable and standard methods. Several analytical and extraction techniques have been reported in open literature for morphine, codeine and other important alkaloids which play a vital function in drug development and drug discovery. Many studies suggest that opioids are also responsible for adverse effects or secondary complications like dependence and withdrawal. In recent years, opium consumption and addiction are the most important risk factors. Many evidence-based reviews suggest that opium consumption is directly linked or acts as a risk factor for different cancers. In this review, we highlight significant efforts related to research which have been done over the past 5 decades and the complete information on Papaver somniferum including its phytochemistry, pharmacological actions, biosynthetic pathways and analytical techniques of opium alkaloid extraction and the link between opium consumption and cancer-related updates.
Abstract licence: CC BY
Pickering G, Kotlińska-Lemieszek A, Krcevski Skvarc N, et al.
2024
- Analgesics
- Pain Management
- Pain
Pharmacological pain treatment in older persons is presented by a multi-disciplinary group of European pain experts. Drugs recommended for acute or chronic nociceptive pain, also for neuropathic pain and the routes of administration of choice are the same as those prescribed for younger persons but comorbidities and polypharmacy in older persons increase the risk of adverse effects and drug interactions. Not all drugs are available or authorised in all European countries. For mild-to-moderate pain, non-opioids including paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are first-line treatments, followed by nefopam and metamizole. Codeine, dihydrocodeine and tramadol are prescribed for moderate to severe pain and 'strong' opioids, including morphine, hydromorphone, oxycodone, fentanyl, buprenorphine, methadone and tapentadol, for severe pain. Chronic neuropathic pain treatment relies on coanalgesics, including anti-epileptics (gabapentinoids) and anti-depressants with additional option of topical lidocaine and capsaicine. The choice of analgesic(s) and the route of administration should be guided by the pain characteristics, as well as by the patient's comorbidities, organ function and medications. Several directions have been highlighted to optimise pharmacological pain management in older individuals: (1) before starting pain treatment adequately detect and assess pain and always perform a full geriatric assessment, (2) consider kidney function systematically to adjust the doses of analgesics and avoid the risks of overdose, (3) start with the lowest dose of an analgesic and increase it gradually under the control of the effect, (4) involve the older persons and family in their treatment, (5) reevaluate pain regularly during treatment and (6) combine pharmacological treatment with non-pharmacological approaches.
Abstract licence: CC BY-NC
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Scientific data (pharmacology, interactions, ADME) is not yet available for this medicine. Clinical sections are sourced from the NHS dm+d database.