Sales of non-prescription drugs increased in the first half of this year. In particular, it applies to the sale of nasal spray against a blocked nose in colds.
Sales of non-prescription drugs, measured in number of doses, increased by 6 % in the first half of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018, shows the half-year figures for sales of non-prescription drugs from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
The proportion of non-prescription drugs sold in stores accounted for 56 % in the first half of this year – 1 percentage point higher than the first half of 2018.
The Public Health Institute believes some of the explanation for the increased sales of nasal spray was that this year’s pollen season started early and was strong.
In the first six months of 2019, 3.4 million mucosal nasal sprays were sold. This is the second most commonly purchased drug after paracetamol in regular goods, measured in the number of packs.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
