Parting With 'Grand-Pa' Such Sorrow
Pini Bothoko | Monday June 22, 2020 16:09
The sachets and tablets were a product consumers could purchase anywhere without a doctor’s prescription at an affordable price. However, Grand-Pa will soon not be available in Botswana following a decision by the Market Authorisation Holder, GlaxoSmithKline CH South Africa to temporarily halt the supply of the product to Botswana and other markets.
The Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BOMRA) advertised a public notice in The Monitor’s previous edition notifying the public of the decision taken.
The notice reads, “The public, healthcare practitioners, importers and distributors are informed that registrations of Grand-Pa headache products (powder and tablets) have been suspended from the Botswana market with immediate effect.
This follows a decision by the Market Authorisation Holder GlaxoSmithKline CH South Africa to temporarily halt the supply of these products to Botswana and other markets. This means that importation of new stock into the country is prohibited, however, the stock currently available in Botswana may be used”.
The suspended products include single doses sachets, that also come in packs of 10, 12, 20, 25 and 38 sachets. Each sachet of powder contains Aspirin 453.6mg, Paracetamol 324.0mg and Caffeine 64.8mg and magnesium stearate as the inactive ingredient.
A majority of Batswana, especially women, elderly and boozers have depended on Grand-Pa’s remedy effects for decades and have not welcome the decision to halt its supply. Grand-Pa painkiller has been alcohol imbibers’ favourite form of remedy, as it is believed to be the ‘fastest action’ to stopping a hangover.
The Monitor has learnt that some drinkers use Grand-Pa to beat a hangover popularly known as babalase. They take a sachet of Grand-Pa before indulging in their adult pastime, drinking alcohol beverages, something that is said to have turned into an addition. Some allegedly prefer to take it before they sleep after some heavy drinking knowing that they will wake up active without babalase.
“I do not know how I will survive without my Grand-Pa. I am someone who drinks alcohol, but I hate a hangover.
A headache is the most common indication of a hangover after heavy drinking. I will be dehydrated needing the best painkiller that I have been depending on and that is Grand-Pa.
I know a number of people who prefer it as well. It is not merely enough to drink plenty of water when having babalase. They have killed me by stopping the sale of Grand-Pa,” said one boozer who preferred anonymity. A Grand-Pa user herself, journalist Sharon Mathala is one of the many who have been using it for various reasons despite the warnings announced over the years.
“They should have at least made it to be prescribed medication not an over-the-counter remedy as it has been because it is the fastest pain killer. People are used to Grand-Pa.
Its demand is high, which means some will consider smuggling it into the country,” she said. For her part, Caroline Ngebani said Grand-Pa is a very useful and effective product that she has trusted for years.
“It is my trusted painkiller. I drink it once a month for my period pains, which will stop until I finish my periods.
It is so sad to hear of its suspension in our markets. What will I use? I experience period pains every month and the only painkiller that has been helpful is Grand-Pa,” Ngebani said.