§ Mr. Mike Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the value of samples of drugs provided to doctors in the latest available period; and what proportion of these samples he estimates were subsequently purchased by pharmacists.
§ Mr. MoyleTotal Expenditure on samples by all companies submitting annual financial returns under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme in 1977, the last year for which full information is available, was £2.9 million. As my right hon. Friend announced to the press in July 1976, the amount of sales promotion expenditure accented as a cost under the scheme has been progressively reduced since 1 April 1977 and expenditure on certain items, of which samples—other than those required for identification purposes—is one, is no longer accepted as a cost under the scheme.
Information about purchase of samples, if any, by pharmacists is not available.
§ Mr. Newtonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the percentage increase in drug costs for each year since 1972; and what has been the increase in excess of the rate of inflation for each such year.