Poll: 62% of Russians noticed that the medicines they need have risen in price

According to a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), more than half of Russians (62%) noticed that the prices of medicines they regularly buy have risen over the past six months or a year. More than half of the respondents (59%) did not encounter the problem of lack of necessary medicines on the shelves. However, 21% of respondents faced this problem once or twice, and 15% several times.

For more than a third of the respondents (35%), a significant part of their budget is spent on medicines. Despite this, 38% do not purchase cheaper alternatives to their prescribed drugs, and 35% rarely do so.

More than half of the respondents (56%) reported that they or their family members have medicines that they constantly need. In most cases (85%), respondents have a supply of medicines or a first aid kit at home.

The respondents also expressed their opinion about the preference for domestic or imported medicines. More than a third (36%) believe that domestic medicines are more effective than imported ones, while 27% of respondents hold the opposite point of view. Half of the respondents (50%) prefer domestic medicines at the same price, and 28% prefer imported ones.