What do Albanians spend money on? Hard to Trust

Health care accounts for a similar burden in the budget of Albanian families with that of households in EU countries, but the structure of these expenditures has obvious differences, as 75 percent in Albania go for medicine.

Albanian families devote 3.4 percent of their monthly budget to health care, while families in Europe cost 3.9 percent.

In Albania according to INSTAT, 75.4 percent of health expenses are taken to health costs, while the rest go for medical services. In Europe, according to OECD data, this report is overturned. In EU countries, drug costs total 7-15 percent of health costs. But the percentage comes and rises in countries that have recently become EU members, such as Hungary, Greece, Lithuania, and others where the percentage of drug spending accounts accounts for over 20 percent of the health spending basket.

Albania makes exceptions to European rank as there is still a culture of their high consumption, and for more, drugs can be bought at the pharmacy without the doctor's prescription, making our country at a high level of costs for medicine. On the other hand, the tendency of drug consumption is growing even though the population is moving toward contraction.

During January - August 2017, imports of pharmaceutical products suffered an annual increase of 14 % in value and 7 % percent in quantity. According to INSTAT data during the eight-month period, 3374 tonnes of pharmaceutical products were imported compared to 3128 tonnes in the 8-month month 2016. During the same period in 2015, 2702 tons of medicine had been imported.

While drug import expenses amounted to 15.9 billion dollars during January-August 2017, up from $13.9 billion in 2016, with a 14% increase. In connection with these developments, pharmacists gave several reasons, confirming the growing trend of drug consumption. Population aging, increased resistance to drugs, and increasing disease are the three main causes that, according to pharmacists at minority points, have increased drug consumption.

Pharmacists also claim that the number of people becoming drug resistance is increasing. Frequent drug use increases their resistance, resulting in this growing group of drugs. Even uncontrolled foods or sedentary life. They have influenced the body's response to the virtues.

The Institute of Public Health has found through an investigation that antibiotics are obtained in 24 percent of cases without medical recipes. Taking antibiotics in this way has made many of them resistant to their actions.

In particular, 73% of individuals wrongly considered that throat pains can be treated with antibiotics. Moreover, 69% of participants claimed that common colds and flu should be addressed with antibiotics. Also, 41% and 34% of individuals consider the use of antibiotics for general body and head pain appropriate, respectively.