Loss of tummy remedy proves hard to stomach

Consumers of the popular antacid Milk of Magnesia may not find it at pharmacies because the producers stopped making it last year. The over-the-counter tummy pain remedy, which has been used to fight indigestion for generations, has fallen foul of EU rules because it contains too much sulphate, according to international reports. The Malta Medicines Authority said that although there was no official recall of the product, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline voluntarily stopped manufacturing it because of a “higher sulphate content than established”. The years-old product, sold in a recognisable dark blue bottle, is commonly used to neutralise stomach acid, ease heartburn or as a laxative. Aside from its medicinal use, Milk of Magnesia was also popular as a beauty treatment – rubbed into the scalp to ease dandruff before washing hair or applied thinly on the face as an oil control treatment. GlaxoSmithKline stopped making the product last autumn and sold off the backlog of supplies. A GSK spokesman said: “Recent testing showed that one of the ingredients in the product was not compliant with the European Pharmacopaeia sulphate limit test of 0.5 per cent.” The shortage of supply...