Sales of nicotine patches and chewing gum was previously restricted to pharmacies, but now they are becoming increasingly available in more stores around the country.
A report in the Keskisuomalainen newspaper reported that retailers are very keen to get permission to sell such health products. However, some local authorities have imposed strict conditions on their sale. In addition, the process for getting permission from the authorities has been protracted. Espoo was only able to start selling nicotine health products in shops, apart from pharmacies, at the beginning of the summer and Helsinki was not able to start until July.
Terhi Hermanson of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health said that they hoped that the easing of restrictions would follow the Danish example, where overall sales of nicotine products increased, whilst sales from pharmacies remained at the same level.
Keskisuomalainen/YLE News