Prescription drug package info soon to include Russian

Many elderly Russian immigrants have difficulty reading Hebrew and especially technical material such as medication pamphlets.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Information pamphlets on prescription medications enclosed in drug packages will soon have to be translated into Russian, in addition to the current Hebrew and Arabic.
The Ministerial Committee on Legislation last week approved a private member’s bill to amend the Pharmacy Law that is aimed at preventing Russian-speakers from getting sick or even dying because they are unaware of contraindications for the drug, possible side effects, dosages and other information.
The amendment was initiated by Kadima MK Robert Tabayeb, who said that many elderly Russian immigrants have difficulty reading Hebrew and especially technical material such as medication pamphlets. More than a million immigrants from the former Soviet Union have arrived here since 1990.
There is no law that requires drug information pamphlets to be in English, but usually it does appear because companies provide the original information in that language and it is then translated into Hebrew and Arabic.
The bill will be brought up for discussion in the Knesset Labor, Social Affairs and Health Committee this week and then be sent to the plenum for a vote.