CAC-1000 Plus: What It Does, Today's Price and Cheaper Alternatives

In Pakistan, CAC-1000 is not a brand, it is a verb. The doctor says "calcium lo", and somebody in the house is sent to the medical store for that familiar tube of orange effervescent tablets. Millions of tablets are dropped into glasses of water every day here, mostly by women, often for years at a stretch. Yet ask the person drinking it what is actually in the tablet, whether they need it at all, or what it should cost this month, and the answers get vague. This guide fixes that: what CAC-1000 Plus contains, who it genuinely helps, today's verified prices, and the cheaper options nobody at the counter mentions.

What is actually in CAC-1000 Plus

CAC-1000 Plus is an effervescent calcium supplement made by GSK/Haleon, sold in tubes of 10 and 20 tablets in orange, cola, lemon and a sugar-free mango flavour. The label lists, per tablet:

Ingredient	Amount per tablet	What it is there for
Calcium lactate gluconate	1000 mg	The main calcium salt, dissolves readily in water
Calcium carbonate	327 mg	A second, cheaper calcium salt
Vitamin C	500 mg	Immunity and antioxidant support
Vitamin D3	400 IU	Helps the gut absorb the calcium
Vitamin B6	10 mg	Energy metabolism

One thing worth understanding: the "1000" in the name refers to 1000 mg of calcium lactate gluconate, which is a calcium salt, not 1000 mg of pure calcium. Every calcium salt is only partly calcium by weight. This is true of every calcium product on the shelf, not a trick unique to this one, but it means the tablet gives you a useful top-up rather than an entire day's calcium in one go. Diet still has to do most of the work.

Who actually needs it

Calcium supplements earn their money in specific situations, and doctors here prescribe CAC-1000 Plus most often for:

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding, when calcium demand jumps and the baby takes priority over the mother's bones.
• Women over 40, especially approaching menopause, when bone density starts falling faster than diet alone can defend.
• People with low-dairy diets. If your day has no milk, dahi, or cheese in it, hitting your calcium needs from roti and salan alone is hard.
• Diagnosed deficiency or weak bones, where a doctor has seen your reports and told you to supplement.

And who probably does not need it: a healthy adult who eats dairy daily. A glass of milk and a bowl of dahi cover a large share of your calcium needs for a fraction of the price, and calcium from food comes with none of the constipation that tablets can bring. If you are supplementing "just in case", that money often does more good elsewhere.

The vitamin D problem nobody mentions at the counter

Calcium cannot enter your bones without vitamin D, and vitamin D deficiency is extremely common in Pakistan despite all our sunshine. The 400 IU of D3 in each CAC-1000 Plus tablet helps, but it is a modest amount, and people with a real deficiency are usually prescribed far more by their doctor. If you have been taking calcium for months with no improvement in bone pain or reports, unmeasured vitamin D is the usual missing piece. Get your level tested before buying a third tube. Our guide to vitamin D tablets in Pakistan explains doses and testing, and for prescribed high-dose support a product like Vit KD (D3 10,000 IU + K2, Rs 870) exists, though that strength is a doctor's call, not a daily default.

CAC-1000 Plus price in Pakistan (August 2026, verified)

Prices have crept up like everything else. Checked today across pharmacies that deliver nationwide:

Pack	Where	Price (PKR)
10 tablets (cola)	MeriPharmacy	Rs 270
10 tablets (orange)	Springs Pharmacy	Rs 303
20 tablets (orange)	Dvago	Rs 656

So budget roughly Rs 27 to Rs 33 per tablet depending on pack and store. A tablet a day means around Rs 850 to 1,000 a month, which is real money over a year of use. That is exactly why it is worth knowing your options.

Cheaper ways to get the same job done

Food first. Milk, dahi, lassi, cheese, til (sesame), and saag are the honest foundations. At current rates a glass of milk still costs less than a CAC-1000 tablet and brings protein along with the calcium.

Plain calcium plus D tablets. Ordinary swallowed tablets are cheaper per dose than any effervescent. The fizz is a convenience you pay for, not a medical upgrade. What matters more than format is taking calcium correctly, and our guide to how much calcium you need and the best time to take it covers the timing rules that make any tablet work better.

Local effervescent alternatives. If you specifically like the fizzy glass (many people take it more consistently, which counts), Pakistani-made options have appeared with the same style of formula at a lower pack price. Calosent (Rs 350 a tube) lists calcium lactate gluconate 1000 mg, calcium carbonate 300 mg, vitamin C 500 mg, D3 400 IU and B6 10 mg per tablet, which mirrors the CAC-1000 Plus label almost line for line, and it is delivered anywhere in Pakistan with cash on delivery.

How to take it properly

Dissolve one tablet fully in a glass of water and drink it with a meal, as the pack directs. Beyond that, three rules save people the most trouble:

• Keep calcium and iron apart. Calcium blocks iron absorption, so if you also take an iron tablet (as many Pakistani women do), put them at opposite ends of the day.
• Do not double-dose. More is not better with calcium; excess just risks constipation, gas and, over long periods, kidney stones. One tablet daily unless your doctor says otherwise.
• Kidney patients, ask first. Anyone with kidney disease, a history of kidney stones, or a heart condition should clear any calcium supplement with their doctor or pharmacist before starting.

Common minor side effects are burping, bloating and mild constipation, usually settling if you take the tablet with food and enough water.