Nomenclature

Abstract

The names of many drugs are confounded by a multiplicity of formal and informal naming systems. Although the formal nomenclature of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is unambiguous, it is often too unwieldy for use in legislation. Pharmaceutical entities have long been described by International Non-proprietary Names (INNs), although for many years UK legislation preferred to use British Approved Names (BANs) which sometimes differed from their INN. Neither INNs nor BANs exist for substances that have no history of medicinal use; a situation that is particularly true of nearly all designer drugs now known as new psychoactive substances. The latter are widely known by trivial names or code names, some of which are only loosely related to the chemical structure. Variations in English spelling between the UK and the US lead to further confusion. In the UK, generic definitions have generated other nomenclatural issues some of which have been resolved by legal processes while others remain in contention.