1996 Euro OTC Spending "Will Exceed $20 Billion"

Spending by European consumers on over-the-counter medicines is forecast to exceed $20 billion this year, up 41% on spending in 1990, says a new study from James Dudley International.

This will represent a saving to European government health care schemes of over $9 billion, says the study, which is entitled The European Consumers' Usages and Attitudes to Self-Medication.

The study says about 25% of all European adults normally now choose to self-medicate for minor ailments rather than consult a doctor, while a further quarter tend not to treat at all. French, Spanish and German consumers are more likely than the British to consult their doctor for a minor ailment. The Swiss spend two and a half times the European average on OTC medicines, and Belgians spend twice as much, it says. Austrian, UK, Italian and Dutch consumers spend about 60% of the European average, while Poles and Hungarians spend one third.