Hello everyone, I am new in the Switzerland so I learn the life here day by day. I have some minor health problems and need sometimes some OTCs. Here is my question; is there any limitation for over the counter drugs and supplements buying from Germany or France. Is it allowed? And is there a regulation about buying medicines (w/wo prescription) from neighbor countries?
Thanks

See https://www.swissmedic.ch/swissmedic...-internet.html

> Private individuals (including tourists) may import a month's supply of medicines into Switzerland for their own use but not for third parties.
However, if a medicine is classified as a narcotic , it may only be imported or exported by travellers who are ill , (in accordance with Art.41 para.1 BetmKV).

I always buy a ton of paracetamol, lemsip, antihistamines etc when back in the U.K. just Chuck them in my luggage. Never had an issue..... obviously also never declared them!

Over-the-counter in one country might not be OTC in another but yes you can buy them from Germany or France although there may well be a limitation in terms of quantity in any one purchase (in which case you can go to another pharmacy and buy again)

Prices of some common OTC drugs can be ridiculous in Switzerland compared to other countries.

If France there are some products that must be dispensed by a phaamnacist and are not available to people not in the French health system.

I have heard of some issues bringing in large boxes if ibuprofen and paracetamol. But these are not available in the EU or UK.

You are allowed a 30 day supply.

Tom

Same here. 50p a packet verses 16chf plus a prescription!

Which is a surprisingly high amount for adhoc items - e.g. paracetamol 8 tablets a day = 240 tablets = 7 packets of 32

And annoyingly low for daily dose stuff like hayfever tablets.

But tbh I don't think they're going to do much about me bringing over a six month supply of antihistamine tablets.

Thank you very much for answers

I would think that only applies to pharmaceuticals that, while they have no domestic approval, have been approved by a foreign (trusted) authority like the US FDA or its EU equivalent. This automatically excludes OTC drugs as they must have been approved to have OTC status. Mind post #4 above by Landers.

Not so. In the previously linked page the "medicines" to which the 30-day supply applies is not defined, so would include prescription and OTC products, regardless of their status within CH.

It's also been pointed out already that many people do indeed bring back much larger quantities of some OTC drugs, particularly from the US where a 1000 * 200mg bottle of Ibuprofen will set you back around 20-odd dollars. I've often done so, without worrying too much about the technicality, assuming, perhaps wrongly, that the worst that would happen would be confiscation of said bottle.

My point was just because a drug might be OTC in one country, doesn't necessarily mean it's available OTC in another. e.g. You might take a trip to Germany to find you can't buy it there. Usually though it's the other way around - you can find things in OTC in Germany that aren't OTC in Switzerland.


30 day supply is likely to be to avoid black market sales, stockpiling, and to direct Swiss residents towards the Swiss health system.

Just a little tip:
antihistamines (I use Cetirizin) are OTC in Germany and not OTC in Switzerland.
I save myself a lot of headache by going across the border and getting a couple of 100 tablet packets.
The saving is first of all for all those doctor visits, in order to get the prescriptions (My doctor gives this only for a short duration, so many appointments are needed to maintain continuous supply). It's also the price of the medication itself.

I imagine (with no evidence) that this depends on the drug.

I would not take a chance with anything containing opioids or stimulants which are known to be misused as street drugs.

But I'd be fairly comfortable giving a surprised "Really? Sorry I didn't know that" with basic painkillers, allergy tablet etc.

(Until I read this the surprise would have been genuine, I thought the rule was a generic "reasonable personal use" thing )

I’ve bought Anti-histamines OTC in Switzerland. Maybe it depends exactly what you want. I just asked for Anti-Histamines, not a specific drug.

Did you actually get an anti-histamine, or some sort of herbal remedy which claims to have anti-allergy properties?

Checking briefly online pharmacies seems to show all the usual anti-histamines (cetirizine, loratidine etc) as being prescription only, but then the next 500 options (!) are herbal stuff.

There are plenty of anti-histamines available OTC in Switzerland.
Cetirizine is one of them and I’m pretty sure loratidine is too.

If you read the linked page, you'll see there are specific rules covering "narcotics" and "muscle-building" drugs, i.e. steroids. For any other prescription drug the importation limit is the same, but clearly you need to have a valid prescription for them.