That was the reaction yesterday from Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand Otago branch president and University of Otago clinical pharmacy lecturer Dr Rhiannon Braund to the Government's ban on over-the-counter sales of cold and flu remedies containing pseudoephedrine.
Dr Braund is concerned about the impact on New Zealanders.
People seeking treatment for cold or flu will now need to get a prescription from their doctor before buying tablets containing pseudoephedrine.
The initiative was one of many outlined by Prime Minister John Key yesterday aimed at countering the manufacture, distribution and use of pure methamphetamine, or P.
Dr Braund believed the initiative would do little to counter P in the community, because manufacturers of the drug would not go to pharmacies with prescriptions.
"They will just break into the pharmacy, because it will still stock pseudoephedrine dispensing packs, which are closer to pure pseudoephedrine than the ones you can buy over the counter now.
"If they can get their hands on it, it will take a few processes out of the cooking of P. It's not removing the problem; it's transferring it."
P manufacturers were no longer roaming around pharmacies buying products containing pseudoephedrine.
They were doing "ram-raids" on pharmacies and stealing products off the shelf - something she believed would now happen more often.
Dr Braund was also concerned about how low-income families would cope with the added cost of getting a doctor's prescription for cold and flu remedies containing pseudoephedrine.
"This is definitely increasing the barrier to accessing these medicines."
Presbyterian Support community welfare team leader Lana Morrison said going to the doctor was becoming a luxury for many.
Some sick people were waiting until they were desperately ill before seeking medical advice.
The changes would not help the situation, she said.
New Zealand Self-medication Industry executive director Tim Roper believed having people off work could seriously impact on the country's productivity at a time it could ill-afford it.
"Government will regret this move when medical professionals are besieged by people wanting prescriptions for an effective cold or flu medicine."
However, Dunedin School of Medicine General Practice Department head and Caversham Medical Centre practitioner Associate Prof Jim Reid did not believe doctors would be inundated with patients.
"A cold will normally last for seven days, whether it is treated or not. Most people will manage their cold with a bit of paracetamol and get on with it," he said.
Dr Braund said there was a substitute for pseudoephedrine called phenylephrine, but the jury was out as to whether it was as effective.
Rather than ban pseudoephedrine, Dr Braund believed a better solution would be to introduce Project Stop - a database used with great success in Australia to monitor purchases of pseudoephedrine as, and where, they happened.
"The Australian Government offered it to New Zealand for free, but the New Zealand Government must have decided against it."
Police welcomed the initiative, with Assistant Commissioner Viv Rickard saying a methamphetamine control strategy had been designed to disrupt the supply of the drug, reduce methamphetamine-related crime and ensure profits and assets from dealing could be more readily recovered.
"This [control strategy] means all police staff . . . will contribute to targeting methamphetamine cooks, dealers and users."
Mr Rickard said tighter control of pseudoephedrine would allow police to concentrate resources and work with Customs on preventing the importation of precursors from overseas.
"Stronger legislation around gangs, the ability to seize assets and profits of organised criminals and enhanced treatment programmes will all contribute reducing the supply of methamphetamine and making our communities safer."
