7 October 2016 - Almost a third of personal health spending is on vitamins, supplements, over-the-counter painkillers and other unsubsidised drugs, according to new figures that chart Australia’s self-medication boom.

The latest expenditure report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals spending on the ‘all other medications’ category hit $9,323 million in 2014-2015, with an unrivalled growth rate of 7.1% a year over the past decade.

The category is responsible for 32.4% of individual spending, more than combined expenditure on dental (19.2%), hospitals (10.6 per cent) and unreferred GP visits (2.4%), which can benefit from government and insurance subsidies. Spending on drugs listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme made up 5.3% of individual expenditure, while other health practitioners, including homeopaths, made up 8.7%.

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