Several pharmacies in Sweden have taken hand sanitizers off their shelves after they discovered that teenagers had been intoxicating themselves by drinking them, local media reported on Wednesday.

Police in several towns in central Sweden have asked the stores to sell the products over the counter instead, public broadcaster Swedish Radio reported.

"Young people come in to the emergency room with alcohol poisoning and say they have drunk hand sanitizer," Stefan Sund, a police officer in the town of Karlskoga, told the channel.

"The youths are mixing drinks from sanitizer gels and orange juice," he added.

Pharmacy chain Apoteket AB had asked all staff across Sweden to be extra careful when vending alcoholic disinfectants, while other chains said they intended to follow suit.

"At the same time, we are in one of the worst cold and influenza waves, so demand for these products is very high. It's problematic since one does not know what the customer intends to use the products for," said Andreas Rosenlund, spokesperson for the pharmacy chain Kronans Apotek.

Hand sanitizers must contain at least 70 percent alcohol in order fully disinfect, public broadcaster Swedish Television reported.