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Increasing herbal product consumption in Thailand
1Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, 447 Sri Ayutthaya Road, Ratchathevi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. pyarp@mahidol.ac.th
Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
|September 27, 2005
Summary
Herbal product consumption in Thai drugstores rose 11% between 2001 and 2003. Top categories included tonics and remedies for coughs and constipation, indicating growing demand for traditional medicines.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacognosy
- Health Economics
- Traditional Medicine
Background:
- Herbal products represent a significant market in Thailand.
- Understanding consumption patterns is crucial for public health and economic planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate expenditures and consumption categories of herbal products in Thai drugstores.
- To quantify the market size and identify key product types.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional descriptive research design.
- Data collected from a 1% sample of registered drugstores across 13 regions in Thailand.
- Purchasing documents analyzed for 2001 and 2003, with median prices used for national estimates.
Main Results:
- Total herbal product consumption reached $27 million USD in 2001 and $32 million USD in 2003.
- This represents an 11% increase in consumption at constant prices.
- Top product categories in 2003 included haematonics, post-delivery drugs, anti-constipation, anti-cough, and cardiotonics.
Conclusions:
- Herbal product consumption in Thai drugstores showed a notable increase of 11% from 2001 to 2003.
- Further research should encompass additional sales channels like hospitals and direct sales to capture the complete market picture.