Purchase habits, use of paracetamol, and information sources on a reregulated Swedish pharmacy market: A population-based study

- About 70% of participants had used paracetamol in the last three months.
- No harmful paracetamol use was revealed.
- A majority bought paracetamol over-the-counter.
- More than 20% bought paracetamol at non-pharmacy outlets.
- Patient information leaflets were the most common source of information.

Considering the general lack of knowledge on how over-the-counter paracetamol is used combined with the reported increase in paracetamol poisonings after the reregulation of the Swedish pharmacy market in 2009, we aimed to analyze purchase habits and use of paracetamol in Sweden. A further aim was to investigate sources of information about paracetamol. Data were collected in October 2015 through the Citizen Panel, a Web-based panel encompassing over 50,000 Swedes. A stratified sample of 6000 (aged 18 years and older) was emailed a survey invitation. Questions concerned paracetamol use, purchase habits and information sources. The participation rate was 58%. A majority (70.5%) reported use of paracetamol during the last three months. Purchasing paracetamol solely over-the-counter was most common (81.1%). Close to two-thirds usually purchased paracetamol at a pharmacy. However, it was more common to purchase OTC paracetamol at non-pharmacy outlets among younger compared to older respondents. The results of this study did not reveal any harmful paracetamol use. The most common information source overall was patient information leaflets, and it was significantly more common among the youngest compared to older subjects. Based on our results combined with previous research, we suggest more studies, both qualitative and quantitative, among young adults, both on the use of paracetamol and on the understanding of information in patient information leaflets and on the Internet.