Foundations

Parapharmacy across Europe: which countries have it?

The word "parapharmacy" belongs mainly to France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Other European countries sell the same products — cosmetics, supplements, simple medical devices — through drugstores and general retail, and draw the legal line instead around which medicines may leave the pharmacy.

Why the concept is country-specific

The products found in a parapharmacy are regulated in largely the same way across the European Union: cosmetics under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, medical devices under the Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745, and food supplements under Directive 2002/46/EC. What is not harmonised is the retail organisation of pharmacy: who may own a pharmacy, which medicines are reserved to it, and whether a separate class of shop may sell non-prescription medicines. "Parapharmacy" names the product space left over once the national pharmacy reservation has been drawn, so its meaning depends on where that line is drawn.

Country comparison

The table summarises the position in the countries most often asked about. It is a simplified overview; the country pages and the national texts give the detail.

The Romance-language model

France, Spain and Belgium keep all medicines in the pharmacy. There, "parapharmacy" means the dermocosmetics, hygiene products, supplements and simple devices that pharmacies sell alongside medicines, and that specialised shops and supermarket corners may also sell. Italy and Portugal went further in the mid-2000s and created a legally defined outlet that may also sell most non-prescription medicines, under professional supervision. In those two countries a parafarmacia or parafarmácia is therefore more than a cosmetics shop. See parapharmacy vs. pharmacy for the distinction in detail.

Northern Europe and the UK

German, Dutch, British and Irish law does not use the parapharmacy concept. These systems sort medicines into legal categories, and the category decides where a medicine may be sold. Cosmetics, supplements and most simple devices are sold in drugstores, supermarkets and online without any special status. So an English speaker looking for "the parapharmacy" in the UK would look in the health-and-beauty aisle of a supermarket or a high-street chemist. In Germany the nearest equivalent is the Drogerie or Drogeriemarkt.

Note a false friend: in Spain, a droguería traditionally sells household and cleaning products and toiletries, not medicines or dermocosmetics.

What it is called in other languages

The multilingual terminology page gives equivalents in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. In short: parapharmacie (French), parafarmacia (Italian, Spanish), parafarmácia (Portuguese), parafarmacie (Dutch in Belgium, Romanian). There is no settled English or German term. English texts usually borrow "parapharmacy" or paraphrase it as "health and beauty products sold in pharmacies".

Frequently asked questions

Which countries in Europe have parapharmacies?

The term is used mainly in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, and also in some other countries such as Romania. Only in Italy and Portugal may a non-pharmacy outlet of this kind also sell most non-prescription medicines.

Are there parapharmacies in the UK?

Not as a legal category. In the UK, General Sale List medicines may be sold in ordinary shops, and cosmetics and supplements are sold by supermarkets, chemists and health-and-beauty retailers.

Is a German Drogerie the same as a parapharmacy?

It is the closest equivalent, but not the same. A Drogerie sells cosmetics, hygiene products, supplements and a limited class of medicines not reserved to pharmacies (freiverkäufliche Arzneimittel). Pharmacy-only medicines remain in the Apotheke.

What is a parapharmacy called in English?

There is no settled English term. "Parapharmacy" is used as a loanword; descriptive equivalents include "health and beauty products" and "pharmacy-type products sold outside the pharmacist's monopoly".

Last reviewed: October 2026.