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Background: Diclofenac is an analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drug that may have harmful effects on the environment, It has contributed to the death of fish exposed to the substance through discharges into lakes and seas. Even birds, especially vultures, have died after exposure to diclofenac by consuming carcasses that were treated before they died.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the sales of diclofenac around Lake Mälaren.

Method: Data were obtained from the Swedish eHealth Agencys statistics database Concise, for the time period 2018–2021. The counties studied were Uppsala, Västmanland, Södermanland and Örebro, which have waste water treatment plants with Lake Mälaren as the recipient. The amount sold in kg was calculated using DDD, number of packages and package size and analyzed by season, time, sales method and region.

Results: Uppsala accounted for the highest sales of diclofenac of the counties studied and over-the-counter sales at pharmacies sold most of the various sales methods. During the winter there was an increase of sold diclofenac while no other seasonal variations were observed. Following the prescription in June 2020, sales of tablets and capsules decreased, while other forms of preparation were not affected. For each year studied, the number of kg of diclofenac sold has decreased.

Conclusion: Sales of diclofenac have declined during the period of 2018-2021, which is positive from an environmental point of view as reduced use means reduced emissions to nature.  This data can be used to investigate farmacies and citys on a lower level.