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by kapep 855 days ago
They are called "Drogerie" or "Drogeriemarkt" which could be quite translated to drug store. Just like in the other comment about the Netherlands, a pharmacy is called "Apotheke" in Germany and only they are allowed to sell prescription drugs and most over-the-counter drugs. You can't get Aspirin or Ibuprofen in a Drogeriemarkt here. I think traditionally the line was more blurred between pharmacies and drug stores but regulations changed that and our drug stores became some kind of specialized (mainly non-food) supermarkets.

I'm actually not sure if the definition of over-the-counter drugs can be applied in the same way in Germany. We have prescription drugs and non-prescription drugs. Non-prescription drugs are still limited to be sold by pharmacies only by default, for example Ibuprofen (but only in small quantities). Some selected categories of less potent drugs or pharmaceutical products can be sold by any store (and even then only if they can prove they employ someone with sufficient expertise).