Comment by WillPostForFood

5 years ago

It is the same in the US, but the FDA calls it "behind the counter". OTC means you grab it off a shelf yourself, BTC means the pharmacy checks your ID, and gives it to you, but still no prescription required.

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/legal-requi...

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WillPostForFood

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Broken_Hippo  5 years ago

OTC just means "Over the counter" or "without a prescription". A good way to test this is to see if your health insurance in the US will pay for it - most won't pay for OTC drugs.

Behind the counter just means there is less chance of folks stealing it and more control over who buys it and the amounts they buy.

There is generally a good amount of things you can get at the pharmacy that are like this: Most of the time, they are simply ordered if someone wants them because there isn't enough demand to keep it on the shelf. Most require no ID either: Sweet almond oil (for ears) is the example I can think of.

Related: In some states, they require a prescription for it because their laws are stricter than the federal guidelines.