Demand for health products has fallen, as fewer customers stocked up on cold and flu medicines during the pandemic, according to Reckitt.

The company reported a 16.4 per cent fall in sales for products such like Nurofen and Strepsils, with cases of flu down by as much as 90 per cent.

But condom sales have jumped in countries including China where restrictions are easing. The company reported a double-digit increase in Durex sales in the first quarter of 2021, compared to a year ago, as reported by the BBC.

At the start of the pandemic last year, Reckitt said people were having less sex because they were anxious about coronavirus. But condom sales leapt when social-distancing rules were relaxed last summer.

Sales of hygiene products like Dettol also increased, as hygiene habits improved around the world. Although sales have eased off in countries like the UK with high vaccination rates, Dettol sales in India are soaring in the midst of a deadly second wave of the virus.