Starting this month, grocery stores in Sweden can sell over-the-counter medications. Some shops have even set up automated cashiers where customers can purchase, for example, pain medication or cough suppressants.
Of the Nordics, Finland now stands alone in forbidding stores from selling over-the-counter drugs. Supporters of the policy say it helps keep pharmacies running in sparsely populated areas.
For years Finnish shopkeepers have said that they too would profit from stocking their shelves with non-prescription medicines. They add that expanding their product line would be especially beneficial to smaller stores. So far, Finnish grocers have only been granted the right to sell nicotine chewing gum.
Meanwhile, consumers could benefit as well. According to a study published on Wednesday by the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA), prices on over-the-counter medications could drop by 15 percent if stores were allowed to sell them.