Greeks are stocking up on iodine-related drugs and supplements. Over the past week Greek pharmacies like those in Bulgaria and Poland, have recorded a rise in demand, a trend similar in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.
There is such a spike in the demand for the drugs, that over the last 24 hours, there has been a shortage in Greek pharmacies.
“Since last week, there has been a shortage in the preparations of all products containing iodine as a dietary supplement,” pharmacist Dimitris Psarros told protonema.gr.
“These drugs are selling like there is no tomorrow, as consumers believe that taking them will counteract the possible side effects of the spread of radioactivity into the atmosphere from a possible accident at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant or for fear of a nuclear catastrophe,” he added.
The price of iodine-related products is still reasonable, as it ranges from 15 to 25 euros and maybe this is an additional reason that they have already “disappeared” from the shelves of many pharmacies in the country as people fear price hikes.
No need for them, yet
“Iodine tablets are useful when you are close to a nuclear accident site or when a radioactive cloud is on the way.
Last week, Russian troops took over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and last night they took Zaporizhzhya’s nuclear plant in the middle of the country. Even though there was a small fire, it was extinguished before it reached any vital equipment.
No radioactivity is heading Greece’s way, but if this was the case, the tablets sold in pharmacies would be useless. In the event of exposure, only high-dose iodine tablets containing 50 milligrams of iodine will have an effect.
Why would you need iodin tablets?
Iodine is an element that is part of a hormone in the thyroid gland.
In the event of a nuclear accident, radioactive iodine can be dispersed in the air and absorbed by our bodies. This can have harmful side effects such as cancer.
High-dose iodine tablets can block the uptake of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland, thus limiting the damage that radioactive iodine can cause.
