In a study, Corsica appears as the French champion of self-medication. Picardy is at the back of the pack.
The 2015 edition of AFIPA’s 3rd European Self-medication Observatory (1) showed that, unlike their European neighbors, the French still shun self-medication. A general finding that shows, however, strong disparities between regions. This is what emerges from a study carried out by IMS Health on the consumption of self-medication in France, a market weighing 2 billion euros in 2014.
6.4 boxes per year
The average consumption of the French is 6.4 boxes of self-medication per year, recalls the American company. But the variations around this average are nevertheless “considerable”, she adds. In figures, they range from 35% above the average for Corsica, to 24% below for the Picardy region.
Very concretely, the authors of this work distinguish the block of “low-consuming” north-eastern regions (Alsace, Picardy) and a southern block with regions with a highly developed market, such as Corsica or the PACA region.
The oldest consume the most
Among the factors explaining the consumption of these products, we find, on the one hand, “the average age of the region’s population (the older a population, the higher the consumption); on the other hand, the number of pharmacies per thousand inhabitants ”.
Moreover, the socio-demographic composition of the population also seems to influence consumption.
For example, pharmacies located in outlying districts with a retired population represent 19% of the market in units, followed by pharmacies in active town centers (18%) and pharmacies in urban areas.
Conversely, rural areas are very low (less than 4% of the market for rural agricultural areas, for example), as are low-income neighborhoods (2% of the market).
Analgesics mainly
Finally, if the volumes per capita are very different, there is a great uniformity in the type of products consumed. Thus, 21 out of 22 regions have the analgesics and respiratory ailments markets in the first and second ranks in terms of volume consumed. All the regions have in 3rd and 4th rank drugs facilitating the digestive transit and those intended for dermatological problems.
These markets therefore “overwhelmingly” dominate the self-medication market, representing 3/4 of the units sold in France.
(1) French Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry for Responsible Self-medication
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