Medicine Use Four Times Global Average

Iran is one of the top 20 consumers of medicine in the world, said Paria Ataei, technical expert at the Food and Drug Office, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. “Iranians’ consumption of medicine is four times the global average,” she was quoted by IRNA as saying. She also warned that using injections indiscriminately is risky by itself. Besides the side effects, it can lead to abscess and bacterial or virus infections. “About one-third of medical side effects in Iran are a result of self-prescription that is turning out to be a serious problem in the healthcare system,” she noted.