Since 2018, there has been an industry agreement among members of the Swedish Pharmacists’ Association stipulating that pharmacies may sell a maximum of one package of paracetamol in tablet form per purchase occasion to customers under the age of 18. The background to this restriction is that the number of calls to the Poison Information Centre regarding suspected poisonings among young people has more than doubled in the last ten years.
When Ekot (Swedish Radio News) conducted a test with all online pharmacies affiliated with the industry organisation, using the personal details of a minor during the order process, Apotea was the only actor lacking a functioning age restriction to prevent the purchase of more than one package at a time.
The radio report interviews a parent whose teenage child has been able to order larger quantities of the drug via Apotea on several occasions and had the deliveries sent to an anonymous parcel locker.
As parents, you are completely powerless to stop them from going online and acquiring very harmful doses of medication, and then having it delivered anonymously. It’s really super dangerous and very scary, the mother tells Ekot.
The CEO of the Swedish Pharmacists’ Association states in the report that the rule was introduced precisely to counteract misuse among young consumers.
We have an industry agreement for a reason, because we know there are significant risks associated with the overuse of paracetamol, the CEO tells the radio station.
Apotea declined to participate in an oral interview with Ekot. In a written comment to the editorial staff, the company states that the error was due to a flaw in its payment system. The company states that the problem has now been resolved and that it fundamentally supports the industry’s guidelines for the sale of medicines to minors.
Apotea was involved in developing, and fully supports, the industry agreement on the sale of paracetamol, the online pharmacy writes in its comment.