Dunedin City and Albany St Pharmacy owner Debbie Young said she had sold more than 100 face masks in the past three days, mostly to tourists or people about to travel.
Pharmacists said interest in Tamiflu - which does not protect against the swine flu causing concern around the world - ranged from none to "quite a lot".
During the flu season, which started yesterday and finishes at the end of September, pharmacies can sell Tamiflu without prescription, but only to people who have flu symptoms.
Ms Young said up to 15 people a day had been coming in to ask about Tamiflu, along with "quite a few" people buying it on prescription. Most people buying the medication were about to travel.
Pharmacy Guild Otago representative and Amcal Octagon Pharmacy director Lloyd Kan said he would not expect over-the-counter sales of Tamiflu to increase on previous years, as it could only be sold to those suffering flu symptoms, such as a cough, fever, sweating and chills.
The price of Tamiflu varied around the city, ranging from $45 to $80 for a course of 10 tablets.
Pharmacy Guild chief executive Annabel Young said buying Tamiflu required a consultation with a pharmacist.
"You can't just hand it over like a cough lozenge. It is quite time-consuming."
Some pharmacists have criticised the requirement for face-to-face consultation to obtain Tamiflu, saying it could spread disease further, but Director of Public Health Dr Mark Jacobs said the controls were necessary.
Restricting direct sales to those who were sick minimised the risks of inappropriate use to treat other viral infections and the development of resistance to Tamiflu, and ensured it was not being sold for use by young children.
There was also an unacceptably high risk New Zealand product would be bought from pharmacies by overseas consumers via the internet, thereby depriving New Zealand of supplies of Tamiflu, he said.
The Government has about 1.25 million courses of Tamiflu stockpiled, enough to provide cover for 30% of the population. A few hundreds of those have been used, but 125,000 doses of another antiviral drug, Relenza, have been ordered.
Otago and Southland medical officer of health Dr Derek Bell said each district health board had its own stocks of Tamiflu and requested more from the national stockpile if it ran out.
The national stockpile was kept in three locations around the country and could be distributed to regions "very quickly" if needed.
Government officials have reported a significant increase in demand for the seasonal influenza vaccine during the past three days and another 125,000 doses of the vaccine have been ordered.
Dr Bell said the vaccine did not protect against swine flu, but he encouraged people to get the vaccine to prevent illness which could lay them low for two or three weeks.
