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21 Aug 2008
Jakarta
Three in ten global consumers are happy to take medication for minor ailments such as headaches, colds and indigestion as soon as they start to feel unwell - and rank product safety, efficacy and trust as the most important factors when buying non-prescription medicines, according to a major online survey recently conducted by The Nielsen Company and run in partnership with the Association Of The European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP).
Looking at the results on a regional basis, the practice of taking a medicine to treat a minor ailment as soon as symptoms start was most common in Central & Eastern European countries, and also above average in Latin America & North America, and it was least common in Western Europe where only one in five consumers claimed that they treated their minor ailments in this way. According to the survey which polled 28,000 online consumers in 51 countries, consumers in Russia (52%), Vietnam (45%) and Venezuela (40%) are most likely to take a medicine for a minor ailment as soon as it starts.
The 51-country Nielsen healthcare survey on consumer attitudes and consumption habits of non-prescription medicines revealed distinct regional and cultural factors that influence consumers’ behaviour towards medicines and treatment of minor ailments. “There is so much localisation with self-medication products around the world, consumers will respond to what they know and see in their own countries, and on the basis of their experiences,” said Robert Buckeldee, managing director of Nielsen OTC/Pharmacy Services in Europe.
According to a 2007 Nielsen healthcare global survey 42 percent of consumers claimed to have suffered a headache in the past month, with one in three people suffering from a cold, backache or sleeping problem. “Our latest consumer survey demonstrated a need and demand for more health education and communication from all sectors of the healthcare industry - from doctors and pharmacists to OTC manufacturers and health media - to help consumers understand treatment of minor ailments and medicines better", said Buckeldee.
When choosing their medicine to treat minor ailments, regional differences show through. For one in two consumers in Asia and Middle East/Africa, “safety” of the product is the most important factor, while for nearly one in two North Americans and Europeans, knowing that “the product works”, is most important. Forty percent of Latin Americans say they need to “have confidence in the product” while one in three Asians want reassurance that the product will “work quickly” and will choose “a trusted name”. For North Americans, where non-prescription medicines are widely available in supermarkets and where "private label" products are common, financial considerations such as “price” and “value for money” are more important than “a trusted name” or “a product I usually use.”
A large majority of global consumers – 65 percent, said they “prefer to wait and see if they recover before taking medicines for minor ailments” or and a further 5% claim to never take medicines at all. “Public awareness on the need to respect medicines is high, and our survey shows that consumers are not generally irresponsible. They expect their medicines to work and be safe, but they will also use them with care,” said Buckeldee. Among consumers who “wait and see if they get better” or never take medication, 46 percent say the main reason given for not taking medication is because they believe medication is harmful to health.
Of those consumers who wait and see if their minor ailments gets better before taking medicines, Chinese and Korean consumers top global rankings for the belief that taking medication is harmful to your health – in Europe, 65 percent of Russians and 59 percent of Italians also share this view. 16 percent of global consumers say they will visit their doctor first and 15 percent say they will seek other forms of treatment.
Among the top countries who prefer to wait to see if they get better before taking medication are Korea (82%) followed by Germany, Austria, Denmark Portugal, Switzerland and Finland. Interestingly, around one in three Austrians, Czechs, Swiss, Latvians and Germans say they will use other methods of treatment. “Natural remedies like herbal teas are very popular in some Europe countries, particularly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland,” observed Buckeldee. In the 2007 global healthcare survey, over one in three Austrians, Russians, Germans, Latvians and Poles claimed they used "home remedies" to cure their minor ailments.
Over 10% of consumers in Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark & Finland said they never used medicines to treat a minor ailment.
Looking ahead, when global consumers were asked what would help them in understanding treatment of minor ailments in the future, one in two people said they would like more support from their doctor. “Even in our multi-media society and at a time when governments are increasingly looking for consumers to take responsibility for their health and self-care, consumers still expect their doctor to play a key role in helping them take better care of their health and minor ailments,” said Buckeldee.
Consumers in Asia Pacific (57%) led by Hong Kong, Korea and Philippines topped global rankings in wanting more advice/support from their doctor while 58% of Latin Americans said they would like more health education. In Europe, over 40% of French, Irish, Spanish and Portuguese said they would prefer more advice/support from their pharmacist. "The pharmacist is already seen as a trusted and valued source of information in many European countries, and these results show that this has still more potential to build in the years ahead", said Buckeldee.
Emerging markets in Latin America and Central/Eastern Europe topped global rankings for wanting clearer labelling and information on packaging. “The top five countries that responded positively to having clearer information on and inside the medicine pack all hail from the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Latvia and Poland.
For consumers in many emerging markets, access to branded OTC medicines from multi-national manufacturers is a relatively new phenomenon. Not surprisingly for consumers in emerging markets, buying “a name I trust” is more important than in any other region. “Eight out of the top ten countries which say “a name I trust” is an important factor in buying medicine hail from emerging markets, led by China where nearly one in two (48%) consumers will chose a trusted brand.
About The Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey
The Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, conducted by Nielsen Customized Research, was conducted in April 2008 among 28,253 internet users in 51 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East. The largest half-yearly survey of its kind, the Nielsen Global Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey provides insight into current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and the major concerns of consumers across the globe. The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index is developed based on consumers’ confidence in the job market, status of their personal finances and readiness to spend.
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