ArticlePharmacy practice
Consumer views on safety of over-the-counter drugs, preferred retailers and information sources in Sweden: after re-regulation of the pharmacy market.
Article in Pharmacy practice. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Expanding OTC medicine access in non-pharmacy settings for self-medication: a scoping review.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Review
- Knowledge, sources and use of over-the-counter drugs by teachers in a Nigerian urban community.Ghana medical journal · 2025Article
- Awareness, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding OTC Drugs in Circassian and Chechen Communities in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2025Article
- Evaluating the Role of Susceptibility Inducing Cofactors and of Acetaminophen in the Etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Self-medication practice among the general public in Jordan: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Self-medication with over-the-counter drugs among consumers: a cross-sectional survey in a Southwestern State in Nigeria.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Consumer Impressions of the Safety and Effectiveness of OTC Medicines.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Regulatory, safety and economic considerations of over-the-counter medicines in the Indian population.Discover health systems · 2023Review
- Development of a Propensity to Self-Medicate with Over-the-Counter Medicines Scale (PSM-OTC).Innovations in pharmacy · 2022Article
- Azole Fungicides and Their Endocrine Disrupting Properties: Perspectives on Sex Hormone-Dependent Reproductive Development.Frontiers in toxicology · 2022Review
- Communicative and Discursive Perspectives on the Medication Experience.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- The Awareness of Risks Associated with OTC Drugs Available in Non-Pharmacy Outlets among Polish Patients-A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- The awareness of the Jordanian population about OTC medications: A cross-sectional study.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2020Article
- Communication on drug safety-related matters to patients: is it even more significant in this digital era?Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe availability of over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) has increased in Sweden since a re-regulation of the pharmacy market in 2009, through which non-pharmacy retailers became permitted to provide certain OTCs.
objectiveTo examine the adult general public's views on safety, purchasing and information channels, storage and disposal of OTCs in Sweden, three years after the re-regulation of the pharmacy market.
methodsA questionnaire study in 2012-13 in a stratified, random sample of all inhabitants in Sweden ≥ 18 years old.
resultsTotally 8,302 people (42%) answered the questionnaire. Seven percent found OTCs completely harmless regardless of how they are being used, 18% felt they should be used only on health professionals' recommendation. Differences in how OTCs are perceived were however found with regards to respondents' country of birth, family type, educational level and income. The pharmacy was still the preferred OTC drug retailer by 83% of the respondents and preferred information source by 80% Reasons for preferred retailers were primarily due to out of habit (45%), counseling provided (35%), the product range (34%) and the confidence in staff (27%). Analgesics are the most common OTCs to have at home (90%). The bathroom cabinet is the primary site for storage (42%) and 16% throw their OTC leftovers in the trash.
conclusionsThe study population does not consider OTCs as harmless regardless of how they are used, but on the other hand feels they should not be taken on health professionals' recommendation only. The pharmacy is still the preferred retailer and information source, and there is room for further improvement in the storage and disposal of OTCs. A return of OTC drug leftovers to the pharmacy should be further encouraged. Due to several limitations, great caution should however be observed when generalizing the results to the adult population of Sweden.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.