"Reckitt Benckiser is co-operating with the Commission. We are aware of the Federal Court's ruling and will be considering it as part of our inquiries. As this is an active investigation we are unable to comment further."
A Reckitt Benckiser spokeswoman said it was aware of what was going on across the Ditch. She said the products in New Zealand were exactly the same, but it was "business as usual" here. The company is about to release a statement.
Consumer NZ chief Sue Chetwin doesn't see any reason to delay getting the painkillers off New Zealand shelves and wants it to happen "as soon as possible".
"We'd hope that the Commerce Commission would act as soon as possible to protect New Zealand consumers. The Commerce Commission has said ages ago when the ACCC started investigating that it would be following what happened, so we're basically waiting on them to come out and say what action, if any, is going to be taken in New Zealand.
"Rules around misleading customers are "very similar" to what they are in Australia," she said.
"We think New Zealanders should be receiving the same protections that Australians are and they shouldn't be allowed to sell these products that are supposedly pain-specific but all have exactly the same ingredients."
Ms Chetwin said the debacle was simply another case of a pharmaceutical company trying to bleed money falsely out of consumers.
"It's a marketing ploy and they make those products more expensive even though the general product is about half the price. The manufacturer's argue that there's different active ingredients in the pain-specific ones but the ibuprofen that is in the general product is exactly the same as the pain specific one. There's just some salt added that makes absorption a bit faster."
In the meantime, she advised buying the general product and "buy it on price".
Nurofen New Zealand said the orders made by the Federal Court of Australia did not apply to the New Zealand market or other parts of the Nurofen range.
The company said its pain-specific range contained 342mg of ibuprofen lysine, which is a form of ibuprofen that is more soluble than regular ibuprofen, meaning it was absorbed more quickly.
"The different formulation may result in different rates of absorption and times for onset of action and duration of action."
The company said the range was launched "with an intention to help consumers navigate their pain relief options, particularly within the grocery environment where there is no healthcare professional to assist decision making".
"Nurofen New Zealand will continue to work with regulators in New Zealand to ensure that Nurofen packaging continues to be fully aligned with all guidelines and requirements and will review packaging if required."
The spokeswoman said the products had not been banned or immediately pulled from shelves, rather the judge had given the company three months to change its packaging.
The product was and would remain on sale in Australia as the changes were implemented.
The company accepted that the ingredients in its pain specific range were all the same and that its claims were misleading for consumers.
ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said It has agreed to an interim packaging arrangement with Reckitt Benckiser for use following the removal of the products.
That would clearly disclose to consumers that the products are equally effective for other forms of pain.
He said they initiated proceedings because it was concerned that consumers may have purchased these products in the belief that they specifically treated a certain type of pain, based on the representations on the packaging, when this was not the case.
"Truth in advertising and consumer issues in the health and medical sectors are priority areas for the ACCC, to ensure that consumers are given accurate information when making their purchasing decisions."
"The retail price of the Nurofen Specific Pain Products was significantly higher than that of other comparable analgesic products which also act as general pain relievers. Price sampling conducted by the ACCC before the proceedings were commenced indicated that the Nurofen Specific Pain products were being sold at retail prices almost double that of Nurofen's standard ibuprofen products and the general pain relief products of its competitors."
