Shortage of cough and cold medicines in early 2023, pharmacies warn

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP) has said that over-the-counter medicines such as throat lozenges, cough mixtures and some painkillers are in short supply, Sky News reported.

The industry group warned of supply issues of both branded and unbranded medicines to treat seasonal illnesses.

It comes after the UK Health Security Agency warned that winter illnesses, including flu and Covid, continue to circulate at "high levels".

Chief executive of the AIMP, Leyla Hannbeck, told the PA news agency: “Pharmacists are struggling to obtain the very basic, most common cold and flu medicine.

Pharmacists are struggling to obtain basic levels of cold and flu medicine, the AIMP has said (Image: PA)

“This isn’t just the branded medicines, it is also simple things like throat lozenges, cough mixtures or pain killers – particularly the ones that are soluble.

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“The demand has been high because this season we’ve seen higher cases of colds and flu and people are obviously trying very hard to look after themselves and making sure that they use the relevant products to manage the symptoms.

“And that has led to a shortage of these products in terms of us not being able to obtain them.”

Ms Hannbeck said this problem related to a "broader issue of our supply chain not functioning properly" and that the Government's recent approach to it has been more about "trouble shooting" than having a "robust" plan to sort it out.

Despite the warning of shortages, Ms Hannbeck urged people "not to panic".

"As pharmacists we do everything we can to ensure we support patients in every way possible and try and sort alternatives, or give advice on how to manage cold and flu symptoms," she added.