Spain to invest E105M in drug-use campaign

As it scrambles to cut a rising prescriptions bill, Spain's Health Ministry has announced it will spend 105.0 million euros ($125.9 million) to educate health professionals on rationalizing drug use.

The Ministry, led by Elena Salgado, will launch initiatives to inform doctors and pharmacists about the rational use of a range of drugs. The effort will also feature smaller activities to inform the public about how to pace their consumption of medicines.

The campaign follows two advertising initiatives aimed at educating Spanish people about drugs. The last such undertaking finished in November 2005 and this informed the public about generic medicines. Another campaign, explaining the ill-effects of auto-medication, ran earlier in the fall. The Spanish drug regulatory agency, Agencia Espanola de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios, will undertake the new information campaign, which will reach the country's 17 regions.