EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION (IEC) PACKAGE ON KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE REGARDING OVER THE COUNTER (OTC) DRUGS AMONG ADULTS

R Jayalakshmi,S Ani Grace Kalaimathi

doi:10.21474/ijar01/11524

Abstract

Self medication is one of the major reasons for the irrational use of medicines. Globally, self medication practices are more frequently observed for the Over The Counter (OTC) medicines (WHO,

Highlights

Let food be thy medicine and not medicine be thy food” –Hippocrates: The non-prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) are the drugs that are purchased without prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner[1]
India‘s OTC drug sale has grown around 10% in the last two year, leaving the U.S and China much behind, where OTC drug sale is estimated at 4%
This study has found that use of OTC drugs is very common among adults, facilitated by the easy availability of drugs and sources of information from pharmacist

Summary

Introduction

Let food be thy medicine and not medicine be thy food” –Hippocrates: The non-prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) are the drugs that are purchased without prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner[1]. In India, though the phrase ‘over the counter drugs’ has no legal recognition, so all the drugs not included in the list of ‘prescription drugs’ are considered as OTC drugs. Medicines for selfmedication are often called ‘nonprescription’ or ‘over the counter’ (OTC) and are available without a doctor’s prescription through pharmacies[2]. In 2009, the global OTC pharmaceutical market generated revenues of more than USD 60 billion. Total OTC revenues will exceed USD 70 billion by 2015. The OTC pharmaceutical market is growing significantly from 2010 onwards. India ranks 11th in the global OTC market size. The Indian OTC market (i.e. advertised non-prescription medicines) is estimated to represent approximately USD 1793 million with annual growth rate of 23%. India‘s OTC drug sale has grown around 10% in the last two year, leaving the U.S and China much behind, where OTC drug sale is estimated at 4%

Methods

Results

Conclusion