Consumption of Over-the-Counter Drugs and Attitudes Towards Over-the-Counter Drug Advertising: A Comparison Between The United States and Hong Kong

A survey of 547 adults from the United States and Hong Kong was conducted to compare their perceptions about functions and consequences of OTC drug advertising and medical decisions when encountering health problems. Results indicate that American and Hong Kong consumers were very similar in their overall perception of functions and consequences of OTC drugs. A large majority of American consumers relied heavily on OTC drugs for all five types of selected health problems in this study. In contrast, Hong Kong consumers took OTC drugs only for specific illness