Finns, Swedes Hoard Iodine Tablets Amid Russia's Ukraine Op Despite Authorities Saying No Need to

Russia's special operation in Ukraine has sparked fears of a leak at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, currently under Russian control, but according to the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, there is no need to stock up on iodine tablets, as none of its reactors is active.

Russia's special operation in Ukraine has had an unusual impact on pharmaceutical sales in Finland and Sweden, where pharmacies have registered a remarkably high demand for the iodine tablets used to prevent the absorption of radiation.

In Sweden, sales have increased “from zero to a hundred”, according to pharmacy chain Apotea's CEO Per Svärdson.

“Everything sold out at once. Our buyers have contacted the medicine companies to supplement, but everything is over there as well,” Svärdson said, as quoted by the national broadcaster SVT.

Several Finnish pharmacy chains, including Yliopiston Apteekki and Lappeenranta Prisma, have run out of iodine tablets as well, whereas others started restricting the sale of tablets to batches of ten.

“There has been strong demand. Our annual demand of ten units has been replaced by a weekly demand of ten units. Of course, the true demand was even greater. Who knows how much we would have sold, had the product been available,” Eero Suihko of the Yliopiston Apteekki pharmacy chain told national Finnish broadcaster Yle.

According to Pia Kukkohovi of Porvoo Old Pharmac, packs of ten tablets are usually sold once a month or not at all, but this month alone 18 packs have been sold.

The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority emphasised there was no need to take iodine tablets linked to events in Ukraine. The authority explained that the fear of radioactive discharges from the the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant located near the Ukrainian-Belarusian border is unfounded as its reactors are no longer active.

“We want to emphasise that the last reactor closed over 20 years ago”, investigator Peder Kock explained.

Meanwhile, Finnish pharmacies have warned that iodine tablets should only be taken upon instruction by the authorities and not of one's own accord as a precaution. They also stressed that there is no need to excessively stock up on iodine. According to Suihko, a jar of ten tablets contains enough iodine for ten adults – “enough for your nearest and dearest”.

Iodine tablets protect the thyroid gland in the event of a sudden and unexpected nuclear accident.

On 24 February, Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine aimed to demilitarise and de-Nazify the country amid Kiev's attacks against the Donbass Republics. Precision weapons have been used to knock out Ukrainian military infrastructure, including airfields and air defences. In the course of the operation, the Russian Airborne Forces took control of the territory in the area of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant located some 100 kilometres from Kiev, and an agreement was reached with Ukrainian forces on its protection.