After more than 4 years of deliberation and negotiation the European Blind Union expect that during 2010 a European standard, EBU Pharmaceutical Braille, will be adopted for braille on medicinal packaging. This means that the industries involved in producing pharmaceutical packaging will have more specific values and procedures to follow when providing information in braille.

The standard follows the spacing specifications of Marburg Medium and provides a single Braille character set for pharmaceutical labelling in Europe.

So, should we begin to use EBU Braille now? Well… it is a little confusing…

European Braille authorities were asked whether they would agree to follow the EBU guidance proposed. Unfortunately, only a few have agreed to accept the standard. Currently, the countries where EBU Braille is acceptable are:

• Austria
• Denmark
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Sweden
• UK

Some countries are still considering.

So far, France, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia have rejected the EBU standard. Which is a real disappointment for all in the pharmaceutical packaging industry.