§ Mr. Frank CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the annual NHS expenditure on the treatment of asthma; and what proportion of the total budget this represents. [31411]
§ Mr. SackvilleIn 1994 the net ingredient cost of national health service prescriptions for asthma medication was £381 million, some 11 per cent. of the net ingredient cost of all prescriptions. The net ingredient cost is the basic price of a drug before discounts and the addition of dispensing costs or fees. Estimates have been made for the financial year 1989–90 of the cost of other NHS services, excluding community health services. It is estimated that the cost of services for asthma was £72 million, which was 0.6 per cent. of the total cost of these services.