How many medicines do Greeks consume per year? How much of this do they have left over and how exactly do they manage or dispose of it? The poll published by diaNEOsis gives an interesting perspective on the matter.

It is worth noting that a study by the GIVMED organization carried out in 2017 estimated that every year in Greece 34 million boxes of medicines are thrown away, while another study, by IΦET, estimated that these have a value of approximately one billion euros.

Additional data on our relationship with medicines show the results of the new nationwide public opinion survey by GIVMED that was recently carried out with the scientific supervision of the Health Policy Institute in collaboration with diaNEOsis.

The results of the survey on the one hand show that cost is an important factor for access to health and, therefore, to medicines: the respondents estimated the average cost for their health needs in the last year at 955 euros. 14% of the population, i.e. about 1 in 7, state that they spent more than 1,000 euros. It is also interesting that quite a large part of the sample, about 1 in 4 (23.3%) do not know or did not answer the amount they spent.

Still, 22% said that in the last year there were times when they did not use health services they needed because of the cost -for the majority this also involves taking medication. According to Kyriakos Souliotis’ analysis, those diagnosed with a chronic health problem are 48% more likely to be unable to use health services due to cost.

On the other hand, 1 in 2 state that they have had an excess of medication in the last year. When the same participants are asked to answer why this happened, most of them state that the reason is that their treatment was completed. 15.1% of them (corresponding to 6.9% of the total population) believe that their doctor prescribed more drugs than they needed, while about the same number (14% and 6.4% respectively) state that they bought more medicines than they needed.

Of the medicines they have at home, citizens said that, on average, about 3 boxes are expired and more than half say that they throw them in the trash. About 1 in 4 say they have donated unexpired medicine in the last year: an average of 5.6 boxes. However, of those who say they didn’t donate medicine, 1 in 5 say they didn’t know where to donate it.

But why is it important to properly utilize or destroy medicines that we no longer need? On the one hand there is the obvious risk that people who should not, such as children or the elderly, gain access to them. At the same time, many unused medicines that for many reasons remain in the cupboards until they expire and are fatally thrown away could be given for their treatment to other people who do not have access to them because, for example, they cannot cover the cost. But beyond that, the disposal of some medicines, either in the garbage, and then in the landfills, or in the sewer network can be additionally harmful to the environment.

This research, which is published by diaNEOsis, is a particularly useful tool, as it captures many aspects of the use of health services by the population, and in particular the consumption of medicines. Its findings, as presented above, can be useful for both the state and civil society organizations. The research highlights in an analytical way the preferences and habits of the population in the use of health services and in the consumption of medicines. Therefore, it can contribute to the design of better policy measures and actions on an important issue.

This research was carried out under the scientific supervision of the Health Policy Institute in collaboration with diaNEOSis, while the data collection was carried out by the ProRata company between December 6-13, 2023, in a sample of 1,000 people, representative of the general population. At the same time, the report of the Professor of Health Policy, Dean of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Peloponnese, Kyriakos Souliotis, is published, where the results are presented, analyzed and commented on.