DRUGS AND SWEDEN'S HEALTH BILL

Sales of pharmaceutical products in Sweden totaled 10 billion krone ($1.6 billion) in 1990, an increase of 1 billion krone over the preceding year, reports the Swedish medical journal. Drugs now account for 9.5% of total national health care costs, it says.

The cost increases reported during the year were mainly for new and more expensive treatments, it says, noting in particular that asthma preparations experienced an increase of 19% for the year in terms of value, and of 6% by volume. New and more expensive products were also introduced for the treatment of high blood pressure, gastric ulcers and heart and circulatory diseases, says the report.

By value, the largest sales in 1990 by therapeutic category were seen for treatments for digestive and metabolic disorders, at 1.5 billion krone ($248 million), followed by coronary and circulatory disease treatments, at 1.3 billion krone ($215 million). On the other hand, sales of sedatives continued to decline, having dropped by 20% since 1985. A total of 85% of products on the market in 1990 were for outpatient use, the journal says.