Wendy Haaf answers your questions about health, nutrition, and well-being
The answer to that seemingly simple question is a little more complicated than you might think. “We need to talk about what ‘safe’ means and what an expiry date is,” explains Lisa McCarthy, a pharmacist and an associate professor in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto.
Let’s tackle those topics in reverse order. The expiry date “is the date until which the manufacturer can guarantee the product will stay effective” and deliver the stated dose while remaining in its original state, McCarthy says—meaning “in the case of tablets, for example, they won’t disintegrate.”
Another important thing to keep in mind is that “the expiry date is based on ideal storage conditions,” McCarthy explains. Generally, “ideal” means following the instructions on the medication label. For many tablets, that means storing them in a cool, dry, dark place—not, for instance, in the bathroom cabinet, where conditions are often humid. Light, heat, and moisture can cause medicines to degrade faster. However, manufacturers’ estimated shelf lives do tend to be somewhat conservative.
Now for the question of safety. The potential problem isn’t that a drug could become toxic after the date listed on the label. “It’s more that you might not get the dose that is promised so the drug won’t be as effective as it was,” McCarthy says. How much of an issue that could be depends on the type of medication and what it’s for.
For example, you’re unlikely to find yourself confronted with an expired medication if it’s something that you take regularly, such as an antidepressant or an antihypertensive for high blood pressure. As you’re undoubtedly aware, there are good reasons to take these drugs at the prescribed dose and as directed. Happening upon an expired product is more likely to happen with something you take to relieve periodic symptoms, such as pain, meaning the main risk would likely be inadequate control of that symptom.
While this wasn’t part of the original question, it’s worth raising the topic of what you should do with expired or unused medications. “We don’t want people putting them down the toilet or sink or into the garbage, because they can end up in our water supply and have important im- pacts on people, animals, and the environment,” McKay stresses. “There are actually programs to support the safe disposal of medicines. The easiest thing you can do is take them to a local pharmacy—it doesn’t even matter if it’s the one you got [the prescription] from.”
Finally, it’s possible that at some point in the future a pharmacy might give you a product that has passed its expiry date: due to periodic drug shortages, Health Canada is working on putting a process in place to evaluate and approve special applications from manufacturers to extend expiration dates.
