SA Panel: Search for iodine pill advances with Ukraine war

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday that the list of medicines sent to Ukraine includes iodine tablets to protect the population from the effects of radiation in the event of a nuclear accident.

Iodine intake is recommended to prevent thyroid cancer and was used by Japan after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

The move comes as Vladimir Putin puts Russian nuclear forces on high alert.

Demand for iodine has also increased in several European countries since the Russian invasion. The move, which occurs even without the recommendation of authorities, has been compared by experts to the search for ivermectin in the pandemic.

The Slovak Ministry of Health issued a statement stating that it does not recommend stocking up the pills in advance and indiscriminate use, which could pose a threat to the cardiovascular system.

The Federal Agency for Nuclear Control of Belgium also published an alert on social media stating that the current situation in Ukraine does not require the preventive intake of the mineral and stressing the need for prior official recommendation..

In Portugal, the Portuguese Society of Urgency and Emergency Medicine warned of misleading advertising regarding iodine pills that are circulating across the country. The entity called the initiative military marketing.

Joana Cunha with Andressa Motter and Ana Paula Branco