Restricted

Most OTC products in a form the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) defines as not requiring a prescription from, or supervision of, a licensed practitioner, to dispense may be sold provided they meet the following conditions:

• They are delivered to the buyer prior to its expiration date

• The packaging is intact

• The item has not been tampered with

• The item has been stored safely prior to shipment

• The listing includes the ingredients, how to use the product, side effects/hazards/cautions, use-by date and storage instructions.

Not Allowed

Prohibited items include but are not limited to:

• Any medicinal product which does not have a marketing authorisation for sale in the UK or Ireland

• Any substance in a form the MHRA defines as requiring a prescription from, or supervision of, a licensed practitioner.  This includes both Prescription and Pharmacy Only substances including, but not limited to:

  • Allergy medicines

  • Components of prescription or over-the-counter drugs unless the sale of such components without a prescription has been approved by the MHRA

  • Contraceptives, including implantable devices

  • Food for special medical purposes

  • HIV testing kits

  • Injectable substances, including vitamins, and regardless of whether they're available over the counter

  • Insulin in all forms, including non-prescription

  • Prohormones

  • Pseudoephedrine in any form or combination

  • Synephrine

• Repackaged over-the-counter medications

• Services offering medical procedures e.g. services offering Botox.  A complex set of regulations prohibit advertising to the general public which is likely to lead to the use of a prescription only medicine (POM). Please visit the MHRA website for more information.

Allowed

• Vitamins

• Calling an herbal product by its common name without its scientific name (such as milk thistle for silybum marianum)

Restricted

• Descriptions of herbal and holistic remedies and other items can't compare the products listed to prescription drugs, imply any non MHRA-approved treatments, or be marketed as having the same results.

Not Allowed

Prohibited items include, but are not limited to:

• Jiu Bian Li

• Muscletech NaNoX9 Hardcore tablets

• TREN-Xtreme

• MASS Xtreme

• ESTRO Xtreme

• AH-89-Xtreme

• HMG Xtreme

• MMA-3 Xtreme

• VNS-9 Xtreme

• TT-40-Xtreme

• Products containing ephedra, ephedrine, or ma huang

• Weight loss pills with MHRA warnings or recalls

Not Allowed

• Claiming or suggesting that muscle-building supplements have the same effect as steroids

• Claiming that stamina products work like Viagra or other erectile dysfunction medications

• Making a claim that an item can cure an ailment or a disease when the MHRA hasn't approved such claims

Restricted

• Medical devices not requiring a prescription from or supervision of a licensed practitioner to dispense (for example, breast pumps) may be sold under the following conditions:

  • Sellers must clean and handle all medical devices in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions before shipping. Sellers may not list any medical device that has been altered in any way that significantly changes the product's performance or safety specifications.

  • Sellers must provide the buyer with the original box, labels and instructions that were provided by the manufacturer with the original product. Medical devices that do not come with the box, label(s) and a complete set of manufacturer's instructions may not be listed on eBay.

  • Sellers must clearly inform potential bidders, in the item description, if the device has been opened or used.

• Prescription eyewear is not permitted but vintage eyeglasses sold for collectible purposes can be listed.

• Tens machines, Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) units and their accessories unless they require a prescription or shipping outside the UK is offered.

Not Allowed

Prohibited items include, but are not limited to:

• Medical products that reference avian bird flu or swine flu

• Contact lenses (including 'zero powered' or cosmetic lenses)

• CPAP machines, Bilevel Positive Airway (BiPAP) devices, and Variable Positive Airway Pressure (VPAP) devices and their accessories that require a prescription

• Defibrillators

• Implantable devices, such as pacemakers, heart valves, vascular grafts, ventricular bypass devices, and implantable fusion pumps

• Pumps and ancillary items for the administration of enteral tube feeds

• Unauthorised medical devices such as ear candles

Restricted

• Some flea control products (such as Program, Advantage, and Top Spot) can be sold but only if sealed in their original packaging.

Not Allowed

Prohibited items include, but are not limited to:

• Any medicinal product which does not have a marketing authorisation for sale in the UK or Ireland

• Any substance the VMD defines as requiring a prescription

• Injectable substances, including vitamins, and regardless of whether they're available over the counter

• Repackaged over-the-counter medications, including flea and tick medications

• Frontline flea control products

• Sentinel, Revolution, Heartgard and Interceptor heartworm medicines