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HEALTH

Are there limits on bringing medicines into Italy?

Over-the-counter painkillers can be surprisingly expensive in Italy, and some brands of medicine that visitors use back home aren't available in Italian pharmacies. So what are the rules on bringing medicines in from outside the country?

What medicines can you bring to Italy from abroad?
Italy has a tight set of rules on bringing medicines into the country from abroad. Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP

Question: I’m moving to Italy for a few months and planning on bringing some painkillers with me as I’ve heard they cost a lot more over there. Does Italy have rules on how much I can bring?

Basic pharmaceuticals can cost considerably more in Italy than in countries like the US or the UK.

For example, a box of 20 paracetamol will set you back around five euros on average in Italy, while a pack of 16 pills of the same painkiller in the UK costs 49 pence, or 57 centesimi. In Australia, a box of 20 paracetamol caplets will set you back around $3.49 (€2.30) and in the US there are much bigger savings to be made on larger-size packs, which are not available in Italy.

It’s not just headache pills: cold and flu tablets, lozenges and antihistamines are all often significantly more expensive in Italy than in many other countries.

With these kind of price differences, it’s understandable that visitors would want to save money by bringing their own medication over from abroad.

So what are the rules on bringing pharmaceuticals into Italy – and why are they so pricey in the first place?

Why are pharmaceuticals so expensive in Italy?

In essence, Italy has a powerful pharmacists lobby that raises strong objections at the slightest sign of market liberalisation.

Italy has strict rules in place governing the number of pharmacies that can operate in a given area based on the number of people living there, as well as around transfer of ownership, with many pharmacies simply being passed down to the next generation. While the system may not exactly be a monopoly, in the past it’s certainly seemed not far off one.

Medicines, Italy

Basic pharmaceuticals are often considerably more expensive in Italy than in other countries. Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP

The passage of the Bersani law in 2007 relaxed the rules slightly, allowing basic over-the-counter drugs like painkillers to be sold outside of pharmacies for the first time; and a 2012 decree increased the number of drugs that could be sold in those venues without a prescription.

But that doesn’t mean you can just waltz into a supermarket, swipe a couple of packets of ibuprofen off the shelves next to the washing up liquid and the toothpaste and walk out with them for less than the price of a cappuccino, like in the UK.

Parafarmacie or ‘parapharmacies’, drug stores that were introduced in the wake of the Bersani law, are allowed to sell a limited range of over-the-counter drugs along with health and beauty products – but still require a pharmacist to administer the transaction.

The same rule applies in supermarkets, where medicines must have their own dedicated counter that is manned at all times by at least one qualified pharmacist.

This means it’s not unheard of to end up spending 50 centesimi per pill for a basic headache drug like paracetamol, and sometimes even more. According to a 2016 survey, buying drugs at the supermarket as opposed to other venues offered savings of around 10 percent – not exactly life-changing.

The rules on bringing medicines into Italy from abroad

For controlled substances – that includes drugs like Adderall and Valium, which are considered narcotics in the EU – Italy’s rules are fairly strict.

You’ll need a prescription along with an official certificate stating the country and place of issue, the issuing authority, the prescribing physician and patient, and the dosage.

With these types of drugs, you’re also only allowed a 30-day supply – so if you’re in the country for longer than this, you’ll want to bring extra prescriptions from your doctor that will allow you to top up your medication in Italy for the length of your stay.

As for over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and non-narcotic prescription medicines, Italy doesn’t appear to have any clear published rules on importation for personal use. 

Other EU countries such as Sweden and Finland allow travellers coming from outside the Schengen area to bring a three-month supply of these kind of pharmaceuticals, so it’s safe to assume that similar limits will apply in Italy.

The Local has sought confirmation from the Italian authorities as to the legal limit of over-the-counter medication that can be brought over from abroad.

If you do find yourself needing to buy basic painkillers and other drugs at an Italian pharmacy or parafarmacia, remember to ask for the generico (generic) version. 

You’ll usually be automatically handed a branded version as it increases the pharmacy’s mark up, so asking for the generic version could save you a good few euros.

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For members

STRIKES

Reader question: Will there be transport strikes in Italy over Easter?

Easter is high season for travel and tourism in Italy, but will travellers face any transport strikes over the busy holiday weekend?

Reader question: Will there be transport strikes in Italy over Easter?

Question: “I’m travelling to Italy for the Easter break and I wondered if there are going to be any strikes?”

As Easter approaches, many people in Italy are preparing for trips – school’s out from Thursday, and although Good Friday isn’t a public holiday many Italians will take the day off work anyway to create a four-day weekend.

With more than ten million Italians plus millions of international visitors planning to travel to the country’s major cities and coastal holiday destinations this weekend, heavy traffic is to be expected on the roads and long-distance trains have been booked up well in advance.

However, Italy is known for its regular transport strikes affecting, everything from airport baggage handling to staffing at motorway toll booths, and at such a busy time these walkouts could prove very disruptive.

READ ALSO: The most popular Italian getaway destinations this Easter

So could this prove problematic for travellers and tourists in Italy in the coming days?

There are no transport strikes planned between Thursday, March 28th and Thursday, April 5th according to the Italian transport ministry’s strike calendar.

And that’s very unlikely to change at this late date, as any planned strike affecting transport in Italy has to be communicated to the transport ministry at least 11 days before it takes place.

Bear in mind however that while travel over the Easter holidays shouldn’t be affected by strikes, public transport services will likely run on a reduced schedule on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday as both days are national holidays in Italy. 

READ ALSO: What’s open in Italy over Easter weekend?

Anyone travelling on those dates is advised to check their transport operator’s orari festivi (holiday schedules) before setting off.

Keep up with the latest travel news from Italy here.

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