In 1880 Charles Henry Phillips first used the term “Milk of Magnesia” for a white-coloured, aqueous, mildly alkaline suspension of magnesium hydroxide. For many years it’s been used by our grandmothers to treat indigestion, ulcers and upset tummies but now it’s been banned by the EU because it contains a little bit too much sulphate.
GlaxoSmithKline ceased production last Autumn, but were allowed to sell through their existing stock, but now supplies are running out and , unless you buy from sellers based in America.
Alternatives are selling for anything up to £20 a bottle, that’s ten times the RRP for the original Phillips Milk Of Magnesia. Even if you buy from US eBay sellers it’ll set you back over a tenner when international postage is added on.
It’s reported that GlaxoSmithKline intend to rejig the formula so it contains less than the the EU limit of 0.5 per cent sulphate, so we may in the future see Milk of Magnesia return to pharmacies across the country and prices drop back to more realistic levels.
