The demand for iodine tablets has increased since the Ukraine war – in some regions they are even sold out. But experts warn against taking it.
Kassel – Since the Ukraine war, there has been a great fear of a nuclear strike* or an accident in one of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants. In order to prepare for a nuclear disaster and to protect themselves from possible radioactive radiation, many people are already stocking up on iodine tablets.
The Ukraine war has already led to increased demand for iodine tablets in many pharmacies in the country. Experts had already advised against taking iodine tablets. Iodine tablets are currently even sold out in North Rhine-Westphalian pharmacies. “Unfortunately, everything that contains iodide is being bought right now,” said the chairman of the North Rhine pharmacists’ association, Thomas Preis, on Wednesday (03/09/2022) to the German Press Agency.
Pharmacists report increased demand for iodine tablets: funds sold out in NRW
Manufacturers and wholesalers were not prepared for the great demand. The standard care of patients who need iodide because of thyroid diseases is now suffering from the supply bottlenecks, said Preis. In addition to North Rhine-Westphalia, the demand for iodine tablets is also increasing in Saxony, and the State Pharmacy Chamber in Thuringia is also reporting increased demand. According to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), iodine tablets protect against the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland in the event of a nuclear accident. However, experts warn against preventive use.
In the Ukraine is, among other things, the former nuclear power plant (NPP) Chernobyl, which has been taken by Russian units. At the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant it had burned after hostilities in the Ukraine conflict*. The situation in Chernobyl remains precarious, also because nobody knows what is happening there at the moment. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently lost all contact. Nevertheless, according to experts, there is no reason to panic.
War in Ukraine: pharmacists advise against buying iodine tablets – “scaremongering”
The pharmacists’ organization Abda, for example, advised against buying iodine tablets for fear of possible radiation exposure from the Ukraine war – but they also registered a “clearly increased” demand for the preparations. “We hear from a number of pharmacies that customers are asking for iodine tablets to be stocked up,” spokeswoman Ursula Sellerberg from the Federal Union of German Pharmacists’ Associations (ABDA) told the German Press Agency. Stocking up on iodine in Germany to protect oneself from an alleged contamination from a Ukrainian nuclear power plant is “scaremongering,” emphasized Sellerberg. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection also wrote via Twitter: “We do not recommend creating a personal stock.”
“We are currently doing some educational work,” reports Jens Tschäpe, pharmacist from the Northeim district in Lower Saxony. According to him, too, it makes no sense to stock up on low-dose iodine tablets from the pharmacy* – also because of the risk of side effects.
Consumer center clarifies: Civil protection authorities distribute iodine tablets in an emergency
At the NRW consumer advice center it was said that a preventive intake of iodine-containing food supplements or iodine tablets was “neither necessary nor sensible”. A permanent excess of iodine can endanger your health and, among other things, lead to hypothyroidism. Only very high doses of iodine tablets could therefore protect against thyroid cancer in the event of a nuclear disaster. In an emergency, these tablets would be distributed via the civil protection authorities.
“Nobody has to create their own supply of tablets,” says the head office. People are only allowed to take the high-dose tablets after they have been expressly requested to do so by the authorities and in the prescribed amount. It is still unclear how long the supply bottlenecks in the affected regions in Germany will last. However, the first manufacturers had already signaled that the tablets could be delivered again next week. (svw with material from dpa) *hna.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
