SINGAPORE – FairPrice customers can buy up to only four units of Panadol and Nurofen products in any combination, following a spike in sales of fever, cold and flu medicine in the past week.

The policy kicked in on Thursday, and the supermarket chain put up notices to inform the public, said a spokesman on Friday.

Watsons customers are limited to a maximum of six Panadol products, the health retail chain said.

Guardian will also limit the purchase of Panadol and Nurofen to six boxes per customer from Saturday, said a spokesman for DFI Retail Group, which manages the pharmacy chain.

Urging customers to buy only what they need for personal use, the spokesman for FairPrice said: “Beyond this, we also offer alternative fever, flu and cold medication from comparable brands to ensure that the community has access to medicine and health-related products they need.”

Both Panadol and Nurofen are household names, and the medicine can be found in supermarkets and pharmacies.

Panadol manufacturer Haleon said it is “producing record quantities of Panadol” in its factories, adding that it is aware that retailers in Singapore may have seen a surge in demand.

A Haleon spokesman said: “Over the last few years, the demand for consumer health products to manage the symptoms of cold and flu, such as Panadol, has been unprecedented and unpredictable.

“Combined with challenges faced across all global supply chains, there may be times when consumers struggle to find the variant of Panadol that they prefer. We sincerely regret the impact this disruption may have... ”

The Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that the greater demand for medication may result in a longer time needed to restock some brands. It added that the public should also consider choosing medicine from alternative manufacturers.

Most retailers carry a diverse range of brands for each type of medicine, said the ministry. It added that they include generic medicine, which is “just as effective as branded medicines”.

Most shelves were well stocked with Panadol, Nurofen and other brands selling similar pills, according to checks by The Straits Times at supermarkets and pharmacies in Jurong West, Choa Chu Kang and Farrer Park. Customers were orderly, with no signs of a rush to buy the pills.

A few retailers had low stocks or had run out of the two brands. Notices about the purchasing limit were also displayed.

It was reported on Dec 16 that some buyers in Singapore were seen lining up at local couriers to send medical supplies abroad amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in China, which has led to pharmacies there running out of supplies.

Electronics saleswoman Cherry Deng, 29, said she was pleasantly surprised to find Panadol fully stocked at Mustafa Centre in Little India. She popped by there after work to buy some medicine before her flight back home to Shenzhen on Friday evening. Ms Deng, who had a box of Panadol in her hand, said: “Most of the supplies for flu and fever in Shenzhen are sold out. Some of my workplace friends and family members have been down with fever, so I want to bring some home, just in case.”

Administrator Adeline Leow, 60, picked up three boxes of Panadol while on her grocery run at Mustafa. She said: “I was in a taxi coming here and I heard over the radio that some shops were setting limits on how many (Panadol) boxes we can buy. My daughter also mentioned that it was sold out in some places.

“So, it is just nice that I was coming here and saw there was stock. We don’t have any Panadol left at home anyway.”