Albanians are using more and more medicaments. Despite the fact that the population has shrunk, the import of medicaments has increased in scary numbers.
Official data from the Institution of Statistics show that in just one decade, the imports of medicines doubled in Albania.
According to INSTAT, if Albania imported 93 million EUR of pharmaceutical products in 2008, last year it reached 195 million EUR.
INSTAT statistics show that the number has increased every year, which means that Albanians are getting sick more often.
Based on the 2008 data, an Albanian spends 37 EUR a month in average to buy imported medicaments. Last year it was 80 EUR.
Experts say that the population ageing plays some part in these numbers. Official data show that the number of Albanians above 60 years of age has increased with 70,000 in the past four years only.
Older aged people consume more medicaments, but that is just one of the causes. Another cause is the higher number of diseases, especially heart-related, tumours and mental health.
The Public Health Institution says that another factor influencing the increased consumption is the usage of medicaments without criteria, without a doctor prescription.
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