ABSTRACT
In 1968 people in England and Wales took home £152 million worth of medicines obtained on general practitioners’ prescriptions. They also bought about £80 million worth of non-pre-scribed medicines from chemists’ shops and other stores. 1 How many medicines are lying around in people’s homes ? The answer matters for economic and safety reasons. Prescribed medicines are expensive and the bulk of the cost is paid out of public expenditure. The average net ingredient cost of a prescription from a general practitioner in 1968 was £0·41, including the container and pharmacist’s fee it was £0·57.
