Please note: The print version of this factsheet has been replaced by the Why are we offered a choice of medicines? brochure. Order for free.

Knowing the active ingredient in your medicine will help you avoid confusing your medicines. 

Most medicines have two names: the active ingredient name and the brand name. The active ingredient name identifies the chemical in the medicine that makes it work. The brand name is the name given to the medicine by its manufacturer.

Identifying the active ingredient

The active ingredient name is shown on the medicine’s packaging and, if it’s a prescription medicine, on the label applied by the pharmacist (known as the pharmacy dispensing label).

Occasionally, a medicine has more than one active ingredient. If so, the name of each active ingredient is shown on the medicine’s packaging and pharmacy dispensing label.

The active ingredient name does not always appear in the same place on the medicine’s packaging and pharmacy dispensing label. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you are unsure.

In the example shown below of a pharmacy dispensing label for a prescription medicine, the active ingredient, simvastatin, is on the second line under the brand name, Superstat (this is not an actual brand).

The over-the-counter medicine you can get without a prescription will also show the active ingredient (such as paracetamol) on the medicine’s packaging.

Generic medicines

The pharmaceutical company that first develops a medicine takes out a patent to ensure it has the exclusive right to produce and market the medicine. After that patent expires, other manufacturers can produce medicines that contain the same active ingredient. These are called generic medicines. Each manufacturer usually gives the generic medicine a different brand name.

Generic medicines may look different (for example, a different colour, size or shape) and usually come in different packaging. Nevertheless, they have the same active ingredient as the original medicine, so they are expected to work in the body in the same way (to produce the same benefits and the same potential side effects).

Inactive ingredients

Medicines also contain inactive ingredients such as lactose, dyes and gluten. They may hold the medicine together, make it easier to swallow, or give the medicine a certain colour.

Generally, inactive ingredients do not affect how the medicine works, so most people do not need to worry about them. However, they may be significant for people who have extreme sensitivities or allergies to particular substances and for people who avoid certain substances for personal, cultural or religious reasons. You can check the active and inactive ingredients in your medicine by reading a Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflet, or by talking to your doctor or pharmacist.

Using medicine safely and effectively

• Identify each of your medicines by the active ingredients rather than their brand name. This will help you avoid confusing medicines and perhaps taking too much or not enough.
• This is particularly important if you are given a different brand of medicine than usual. For example, if you (or someone you care for) are treated in hospital or see a doctor or pharmacist that you don’t usually visit.
• Every time you get a medicine, check the name of the active ingredient.
• Some active ingredient names can look very similar, so check the names carefully.
• If you are unsure how to identify active ingredients in your medicines, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
• Keep a medicines list and show your doctor the list at each visit. You can print a Medicines List from our website.
  

For more information

Contact the Medicines Line on 1300 633 424, or the National Prescribing Service at www.nps.org.au, or the Consumers’ Health Forum of Australia at www.chf.org.au

NPS and CHF are partners in the Community Quality Use of Medicines program.