September 28, 2016.
The government launched, Tuesday, September 27, a vast communication campaign on generics. Objective: to strengthen the confidence of the French with regard to these drugs.
Misconceptions About Generic Drugs
According to a study by the BVA institute, nearly eight in 10 French people use generics when they are sick. But this is not yet enough, especially in comparison with our neighbors. ” I especially believe that we have a lot of misconceptions and a lack of information or information that is intentionally or unintentionally truncated », Explained doctor Jean-Daniel Flaysakier, on France 2. “In the United States, 84% of the volume of drugs is generic. In France, this rate is 46%.
How to explain it? In the minds of many French people, generic drugs are associated with counterfeiting. For the elderly in particular, buying cheaper drugs is like buying poor quality drugs. ” In fact, if generics are cheaper, it is because the manufacturer does not have to bear the cost of research and development of the drug, which has already been on the market for ten years. », Explains Jean-François Bergman, head of the internal medicine department at the Lariboisière hospital in Paris, in the columns of The cross.
A problem of ignorance
According to the government, the main problem stems from the lack of awareness of these drugs. ” For example, only 47% of patients, 64% of general practitioners and 86% of pharmacists know that there are generic drugs that treat cancer “, Can we read in a press release from the Ministry of Health.
What you should know is that a generic medicine contains the same amount of active ingredient as the original medicine and it acts in the same way on the body. And, as a general rule, they are 30% cheaper. ” Generics have saved 7 billion euros in 5 years », Affirms Marisol Touraine. Here is the stake.
Read also: Medicines online: beware of counterfeits!
