Taiwan may restrict Panadol sales to thwart bulk-buying for China

Taiwan may restrict the bulk buying of pain relief medications as people stock up, with some planning to ship their purchases to China, where the worsened Covid-19 situation has put a strain on supplies.

Hsueh Jui-yuan, Taiwan’s minister of health and welfare, told lawmakers at a legislative committee hearing on Thursday that the health agency would first instruct pharmacies to advise customers not to snap up Panadol and related drugs.

The health authorities would discuss if they needed to impose restrictions but there was no concrete plan in place yet, Hsueh told reporters on Thursday, the official news agency reported.

Taiwan has experienced shortages of paracetamol and Covid-related medicine since May this year when local cases surged, several pharmacies in Taipei said. One pharmacy said that over the past few weeks, customers had come into stock up, fearing a surge in cases after Taiwan opened its borders to tourists in October.

“We ran out of stock for Panadol fairly quickly and we don’t expect restocking any time soon until probably after the lunar new year, which falls in late January next year,” said one employee at a pharmacy in Da’an district in downtown Taipei.

Some drug buyers in Taiwan are looking to ship or bring the painkiller to the Chinese mainland, where Covid-19 cases and deaths have risen after China relaxed its zero-Covid restrictions.

Agencies