Most people over here would love to be 'ripped off' the way some of you claim to be. Even with insurance, I've paid 30 pounds for one prescription.

Bill Atkins, Rehoboth Beach, USA

I think you can add that stuff that falls free from the sky viz Water where down here in deepest South West water rates have doubled in 6 years. I'm so glad SW Water don't actually have to manufacture it if that were the case no one could afford it except maybe MPs, Councillors, Judges, Lawyers, Footballers, Bankers etc.

George Gibson, Saltash, Cornwall, England

£2.70 for the NHS to buy & £6.85 (prescription charge) for the NHS to sell it to the public. Who is cheating who?

karl, Leeds, W yorks

I 'm afraid the whole think gives me indigestion.

Mike Giggler (via e-mail), London,

Its a rip-off Britain, right from Gas, electricity,petrol,council tax to medicine,etc,etc - Abnormal price

HSMPImmigrant, wolves, uk

Reckitt Benckiser were very cafty. They withdrew Liquid Gaviscon for a short time before rival products were fully available. This meant doctors had to switch to the new more expensive product Gaviscon Advance. A tactic that has been used more often that once by pharmaceutical companies. AstraZeneca tried a similar stunt with Losec tablets, withdrawing the capsules formulation shortly before patent expiry.

These types of business decisions are encourage by the way the system currenlty works, using valuble NHS recources for a return of nothing. The system should be changed to encourage innovation rather than allow such useless product changes and supposed improvements.

Craig, Leeds,

Why is it the responsibility of sufferers to buy their own heartburn medicine? Surely heartburn is a legitimate and indeed painful condition that if not treated can over time cause cancer.

Presumably such people would also expect diabetics to buy their own insulin as well?

It surprises me that nobody takes the view that the prices expected by Gaviscon are unreasonable, particularly when your taxes are lining the Reckitt executives pockets.

Jim, London,

If it is prescibed by the GP then the patient should be paying the non-presciption, over-the-counter price. If it is dished out in hospitals the profit margin seems to be normal compared to drugs. The question should be why is so much being dished out free to cost the NHS 40million?
I fail to see how R&C can stop a generic version being manufactured.

David Smith, Stourbridge, UK

It only costs a couple of pence to make a hamburger or a ciggarette but they both sell for over five quid and can cause terminal heart disease. So Reckit makes a bit less profit than a hamburger chain for something that does some good!
Why is that a problem. Thats how business works get a life!

Dave , kelso, borders

Why on earth is the NHS paying for people to take heartburn medicine? Surely that is the responsibility of individuals. It would never occur to me to go to a doctor just because I had heartburn.

Lorne Anderson, Weybridge,

I don't actually see what Gaviscon have done wrong?

They have developed their own product, that is extremely successful. The government wants to allow competitors to make exactly the same product to bring the price down.

They couldn't do this with Coca Cola, the only reason Gaviscon is different is because it is a medicine (for indigestion).

Surely Gaviscon have a right to delay the introduction of state subsidied competition (effectively what they will be since they get the formula for free)?

Pete, Bristol, UK

Hmmm! We live in a capitalist society where it's every one for themselves, and the OFT is up in arms because someone decided to aim to maximise and maintain profit. Can't have it both ways!

Colin, Hemel Hempstead,