LOCAL pharmacists say a landmark ruling abolishing price maintenance for over-the-counter drugs could spell disaster.

The ruling means supermarket chains can slash prices for top-selling brands like Anadin, possibly forcing independent retailers out of business.

Max Falconer of Claremont Pharmacy, Church Street, said: "It certainly will do no good for the small pharmacies.

"There is more and more pressure on the medical profession and all of Malvern's pharmacies provide an important advice service for members of the public.

"The future of rural pharmacies in particular might be threatened because they tend to survive on small margins.

"Another point is that I'm not sure it's a good idea for medicines to be put on special offer, as this encourages people to keep larger stocks of them at home.

"It has been shown that the number of suicides has decreased as the amount of analgesics kept at home is reduced, as we have been doing over the last few years with smaller packs."

Simon Evans of Evans Pharmacy, Worcester Road, said: "This is bad news for independent chemists and therefore bad news for high streets and consumers in general.

"Chemists are the natural home of medicines, where their sale can be accompanied by qualified advice and warnings. You can't ask a supermarket shelf for advice.

"This decision will result in a stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap mentality, which will encourage stockpiling. This may be OK for baked beans but not for family medicines."

Kate Ionnanides of the Colwall Village Pharmacy said: "I hope that we will not be affected too much but for some small pharmacies it will be a disaster.

"None of the supermarkets around here have full pharmacy counters, so there will be a lot of medicines that only we can supply.

"But it will still hit us and we can only hope that people decide they prefer to have small village pharmacies than to pay less for aspirin in supermarkets."