The Over-the-counter drug reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Over-the-counter drug

Over-the-counter drugs (OTC) or other medical remedies may be sold without a prescription and without a visit to a medical professional. One of the oldest OTC drugs is aspirin. Sometimes some OTC drugs are further restricted to require prescriptions. Cocaine and various opiates, for instance, were once sold freely OTC, but now are highly restricted. On the other hand, diphenhydramine hydrochloride (Benadryl, for instance) once required a prescription, but now is available (except for certain dosage forms) OTC.

See also: online pharmacy.

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Over-the-counter trading is the trading of financial instruments such as stocks directly between parties and not through an exchange. Compare with electronic trading or exchange trading.

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