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People from S’pore Reportedly Now Hoarded Panadol from JB

2022-12-25 , 12:09 pm

Can’t find Panadol in Singapore? Yeah, you’re not going to be able to find them in Malaysia either.

Singaporeans have been crossing the causeway to hoard Panadol from JB, leading to shelves of Panadol being sold out.

Panadol Shortage in Singapore

On 7 December, China eased COVID-19 restrictions, causing a spike in COVID-19 cases.

This resulted in a shortage of drugs like Panadol, which are often used to treat COVID-19 symptoms. Chinese nationals in Singapore have thus been purchasing and sending these medicine to their relatives back in China.

And just like the toilet paper saga, when we see someone hoarding something, the rest will follow (even when there’s no real need to).

Places like Guardian and NTUC FairPrice now have purchase limits on Panadol and similar products.

Still confused? We have our blue cat here to break the situation down for you:

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Panadol Also Sold Out in JB

Since there was a Panadol shortage in Singapore, Singaporeans went to the next closest place to get their Panadol: Johor Bahru.

The Malaysian newspaper China Press reported that Panadol is sold out in many pharmacies in JB, while other similar medicines from other brands are still in stock.

In fact, Panadol was sold out in less than two weeks after the pharmacies restocked it.

Limited Malaysian Supply of Panadol

Apart from the shortage in Singapore, another possible reason why people choose to buy Panadol in JB is due to the lower price. Panadol ranges from $7 to $12 in Singapore, which is about RM23 to RM39. In contrast, Panadol is priced between RM8 to RM14 in Malaysia.

Many Singaporeans would only buy a small number of Panadol. But with the huge number of Singaporeans doing this, the supply of Panadol ends up dwindling very quickly.

In order to avoid selling out of Panadol as soon as it is placed on the shelves, pharmacies will put it out in batches to prevent customers from buying too much.

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Refuse to Buy Other Brands

Despite the plethora of other brands selling medicine that do the exact same thing as Panadol, consumers refuse to buy them.

Most people are more familiar with the brand ‘Panadol’ and generally refuse to try out other brands, even when pharmacists explain that they are similar.

Apart from Panadol, Singaporean tourists also like to buy masks and supplements like Vitamin C.

Since fever is also a common symptom of COVID-19, Singaporeans will often buy fever-cooling patches to bring home.