Officials still opposed to over-the-counter drugs in supermarkets
Officials in Estonia remain opposed to allowing over-the-counter drugs in supermarkets, even as they consider permitting home delivery directly from pharmacies.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) is analyzing the latter possibility together with the Ministry of Social Affairs, the State Agency of Medicines (RA) and delivery platforms Bolt Food and Wolt.
The goal is to allow for courier delivery of nonprescription, or over-the-counter (OTC), medicines, as remote sales are already permitted when ordered from licensed online pharmacies.
Granting grocery stores the right to sell OTC drugs, however, is still not under discussion, said Kärt Veliste, head of pharmaceutical and medical device policy at the Social Affairs Ministry.
Ott Laius, deputy director general of the State Agency of Medicines, likewise confirmed there are no plans to allow "anyone besides online pharmacies licensed for remote sales" to dispense medicines.
Pharmacies with such licenses, he added, already rely on courier services to deliver them to customers. Five such pharmacies currently operate in Estonia.
Getting delivery platforms Bolt and Wolt involved in the system would simply make them additional delivery partners for the pharmacies, Veliste noted.
She said there is no need to grant supermarkets the right to sell OTC drugs in stores. The key difference, the ministry official explained, is that "unlike grocery stores, pharmacies still play an advisory role."
According to the State Agency of Medicines' website, customers must be counseled as well as directed to read a drug's product information leaflet before confirming any orders for medications.
In practice, however, ordering meds online can be much simpler. When ordering items such as OTC painkillers, customers are typically only required to check a box in their shopping cart.
Online pharmacies usually offer two consent options: customers can confirm they are familiar with the medicine and do not need counseling on it, or they can decline consultation altogether. No live pharmacist is actually available via video link.
Other countries allow OTC drug sales
At the Social Affairs Ministry, Veliste said the idea of allowing supermarkets to sell OTC medications has not been discussed within Estonia's ministries and is still not currently being considered.
She acknowledged that in some countries, OTC sales are allowed outside pharmacies. "In Estonia, that right still belongs only to pharmacies, and we are not planning to change that at the moment," she added.
Countries in Europe that partially or fully allow the sale of OTC drugs at supermarkets include Sweden, Norway and Poland.
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Editor: Märten Hallismaa, Aili Vahtla
