attitudes to overthecounter analgesics among 1516 yearold teenagers background more information is needed on teenagers attitudes to selfmedication with otcanalgesics and their access to medicine and informationmaterial and method an anonymous questionnaire study was performed among all tenth grade students in drammen a middle sized city in norway in spring 2007results 367 students participated in the study 55 of them had a nonwestern background 24 of boys and 41 of girls stated that analgesics could be used whenever they experienced pain among these 91 had taken analgesics during the previous four weeks among those who thought that analgesics should not be used 50 had taken it the girls reported episodes of pain more often than the boys but analgesics were used to treat pain to the same extent by all students irrelevant of sex and cultural background 77 of students with a western origin and 62 of those from nonwestern countries felt free to use otcanalgesics at home without asking for permission 31 of western girls got analgesics from their friends 85 bought medicines at the pharmacy and 71 bought them in grocery shops information on how to alleviate pain with medicine was usually given by the parentsinterpretation teenagers in secondary school have different opinions on selfmedication with otcanalgesics the parents assist their children in how to manage pain 15 16 yearolds experience much pain and mainly have free access to analgesics at home