Basque families spend 184 euros per year on pharmaceutical products, compared to 244 for the state average | Radio Bilbao | Hour 14 Euskadi

Basque families spend an average of 184 euros per year on pharmaceutical products, below the average national expenditure, which in the last year reached 244 euros. With these figures, the Basque Country is the third community with the lowest spending on pharmaceutical products, according to the Habits sociodemographic indicators prepared by AIS Group.

Within this community, Biscayan families spend the most on these products, an average of 183 euros, followed by those from Gipuzkoa (175 euros) and those from Alava (168 euros).

None of the three Basque territories exceeds the general average of spending on pharmaceutical products, although these amounts could be multiplied by four by the obligation to wear a mask in most of the autonomous communities and the need to protect themselves against the coronavirus.

According to the OCU, the expenditure on masks of a family of four members who use at least one mask daily each (120 units / month), would reach 115 euros per month if they are purchased at the maximum fixed price of 96 cents. In accordance with these premises and assuming the possibility that Spaniards will be forced to use a mask during the rest of 2020, the cost of masks alone could amount to almost 700 euros, so that if the usual expenditure on pharmaceutical products is added, the total for this year could be just over 900 euros per family.

The most recent data available in the AIS Group Habits indicators, calculated on the basis of statistical information collected from sources such as the Household Budget Survey of the National Institute of Statistics, reveal that Murcian families are the ones with the highest annual expenditure on pharmaceutical products, a total of 329 euros. A Coruña, with its 303 euros, is the only other province that presents an average expenditure per family of more than 300 euros, and in Lugo the budget remains at 293 euros.

They complete the list of the five provinces with the highest spending on this type of product Madrid (270 euros) and Barcelona (266 euros). Also above 250 euros are Navarra, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Girona, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Ourense.

For their part, the families that invest the least in pharmaceutical products are concentrated in Castilla-La Mancha. The lowest register is that of Toledo, where the average budget allocated by families to pharmaceutical products is 155 euros. Just one euro more is allocated to Albacete, and between 160 and 170 euros a year are Ciudad Real, Guadalajara, Huesca, Cáceres, Badajoz and Álava.

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