Non-Prescription Medications Take a Recessionary Hit
In a major new study exploring consumer behavior toward self-medication and non-prescription medicines, The Nielsen Company highlights the polarizing impact that the global economic slowdown is having. While 46 percent of consumers around the world indicated that the global economic slowdown would affect the amount or type of non-prescription medicine they will use, the level of agreement ranged from 79 percent of Chinese to only 5 percent of Danes.
Regionally, one-third of Europeans and only 31 percent of North Americans agreed that their usage would change, but in Latin America (47 percent), Middle East/Africa (55 percent) and Asia Pacific (57 percent), the levels were significantly higher. It can be concluded that new economic realities, coupled with lower relative disposable incomes, make maintaining usage of non-prescription medicines more difficult for consumers in many developing countries.
Source: The Nielsen Company, Consumer Insights
Regionally, one-third of Europeans and only 31 percent of North Americans agreed that their usage would change, but in Latin America (47 percent), Middle East/Africa (55 percent) and Asia Pacific (57 percent), the levels were significantly higher. It can be concluded that new economic realities, coupled with lower relative disposable incomes, make maintaining usage of non-prescription medicines more difficult for consumers in many developing countries.
Source: The Nielsen Company, Consumer Insights