The sale of emergency contraception, so-called ‘day after pills’,continues to decline,show drug statistics from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Sales of the most commonly used non-prescriptiondrugs sold in pharmacies and grocery stores continue to increase, but the statistics show that there are two exceptions.Sales of the analgesic ibuprofen have decreased by 6% from 2017 to 2018, and sales of emergency contraception have decreased by 4%.
Last year,a total of 117,700 doses of emergency contraception were sold.Of this,7,400 were sold in the grocery store trade.
The morning after pills have been sold without a prescription since 2005.Until 2009, there was an increase in sales,but then sales fell by as much as 29%.
‘’It is positive that less emergency contraception is being sold,as this should not replace other contraception’’ said senior adviser,Christian Berg
of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
He believes the decline is related to women having better access to contraceptives and that increased use of long-acting contraceptives such as P-rods and coils may have led to less need for contraception.
Among other widely used drugs, sales of nasal spray increased by 2% from 2017 to 2018.Means for smoking cessation,such as chewing gum with nicotine and thelike have had a corresponding increase.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
