AND GOVT TO STUDY WHAT IS IN THE MEDICINE CUPBOARD

UK Health Minister Brian Mawhinney has announced that a study is being commissioned to examine what prescribed medicines are left unused by households throughout England and Wales. "We know that many patients leave their medicines on the shelf," he said, and "I want to find out how many medicines are left unused and, equally importantly, why."

Data from a one-off local DUMP campaign held between 1984 and 1991, he added, suggest that 150 tonnes of medicines, or 3kg per 1,000 population, are thrown away in England each year; and no one knows how much is stored or simply forgotten about.

The survey, which starts June 1, will also elucidate whether medicines prescribed for chronic illness get less used than those for acute conditions, if medicines that need to be taken more frequently each day are relatively more unused, and what influence repeat prescribing has on use.