
Ooh, Aah, Ouch? Billion-$ Market Feels Your Pain
There were 1,552 brands -including Volini, Omnigel, Dolo and Saridon -to tackle the twinges in 2020; now, there are 2,771.
Consumers are more attentive to alleviating any pain on a more immediate basis, said Shivam Puri, managing director at Cipla Health, which sells the biggest rubefacient brand, Omnigel. Rubefacient are gels and creams for topical application. "Rise of urbanisation and increase in chronic illnesses have led to the need for faster, more convenient formats that are accessible across platforms," said Puri. This is despite medical professionals advising caution on random use of painkillers.
The pain relief category is often lifestyle-driven in urban markets, especially with gym and sports injuries. As a result, the market for analgesics (pain relief medication) and rubefacient more than doubled to Rs 15,905 crore as of May this year, from Rs 6,820 crore as of May 2020, growing at a compounded annual rate of 18%. This is three times faster than overall over-the-counter market growth, which rose at 6% CAGR to Rs 80,000 crore.
Analgesics account for 75% of the pain medication market and within analgesics, paracetamol is the biggest contributor, according to data from market researcher PharmaTrac.
Covid has changed Indians' views on pain management, said Sandeep Verma, head for consumer health business for South Asia at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, which sells Saridon. "A lot of Indians view taking pain relief medication as a sign of weakness or worry about becoming dependent on it. Covid made many of us more aware of how stress, exhaustion, and even mild but recurring pain can chip away at our wellbeing and productivity," he said. "More people are starting to understand that living with untreated pain impacts their quality of life."
Experts said pain management medications are also used to treat inflammation and adjacent issues, widening the need for the pills.
"The analgesic segment that is dominated by paracetamols has been growing at a steady rate of 10%. This is because paracetamol medications are taken alongside other conditions that could include arthritis, any other bacterial or viral infection," said Sheetal Sapale, vice president, commercial, at PharmaTrac.
Nitin Kumar Sinha, consultant physician at Mumbai-based WeCare Wellness, said lifestyle-related problems - including rising stress levels, lack of sleep and increasing obesity - are reasons for increasing demand for pain medications.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
3 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Covid vaccine didn't raise risk of deaths among young adults: Nadda
An ICMR study has found that Covid vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden deaths among young adults in India, Union Health Minister J P Nadda told Lok Sabha on Friday. Past Covid hospitalization, family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviours increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden deaths. Responding to a question, Nadda said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has informed that it and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) explored two approaches to investigate the causes of sudden death. The first approach was a retrospective case-control study to determine the risk factors associated with sudden death and the second approach of the study was to prospectively investigate sudden deaths in young adults using a virtual autopsy approach. The ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) conducted a study titled "Factors associated with unexplained sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India -? A multicentric matched case-control study" at 47 tertiary care hospitals located across 19 states and Union territories during May-August 2023. Cases were apparently healthy individuals without any known co-morbidity, who suddenly (less than 24 hours of hospitalization or seen apparently healthy 24 hours before death) died of unexplained causes during October 1, 2021-March 31, 2023, Nadda stated. Four controls were included per case matched for age, gender and neighbourhood. Information was collected regarding data on Covid vaccination/infection, post-Covid conditions, family history of sudden death, smoking, recreational drug use, alcohol frequency, binge drinking and vigorous-intensity physical activity two days before death among the cases or interviewed controls, he said. A total of 729 sudden death cases and 2916 controls were included in the analysis. It was observed that receiving two doses of Covid vaccine significantly reduced the odds of unexplained sudden death, Nadda stated. Past Covid hospitalization, family history of sudden death, binge drinking 48 hours before death/interview, use of recreational drug/substance and performing vigorous-intensity physical activity 48 hours before death/interview increased the odds of sudden death. "Hence, the study observed that Covid vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among young adults in India. Past Covid hospitalization, family history of sudden death and certain lifestyle behaviours increased the likelihood of unexplained sudden death," he said. The second study, titled "Establishing the cause in sudden unexplained deaths in young" conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi with funding and in collaboration with ICMR, is a prospective work aimed at determining the common causes of sudden deaths in young adults. Early analysis of data from the study indicates that heart attacks, or myocardial infarction (MI), continue to be the leading cause of sudden death in this age group. Importantly, no major changes in the pattern of causes have been observed when compared with previous years before the Covid pandemic. Together, these two studies offer a more comprehensive understanding of sudden unexplained deaths in young adults in India, Nadda said. It has also been revealed that Covid vaccination does not appear to increase the risk, whereas, the role of underlying health issues, genetic predisposition and risky lifestyle choices does play a role in unexplained sudden deaths, he said.


New Indian Express
3 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Almost a third of Gazans 'not eating for days', says UN
ROME: Almost a third of people in Gaza are "not eating for days", the United Nations food aid agency told AFP on Friday, saying the crisis has reached "new and astonishing levels of desperation". The Rome-based World Food Programme had previously warned of a "critical risk of famine" in war-raged Gaza, over which international condemnation of Israel's actions has been growing. "Nearly one person in three is not eating for days. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment," a WFP statement said. It said that 470,000 people are expected to face "catastrophic hunger" -- the most critical category under the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase classification -- between May and September this year. "Food aid is the only way for people to access any food as food prices are through the roof," the WFP said. "People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance." Aid groups have warned of surging numbers of malnourished children in Gaza, which Israel placed under an aid blockade in March amid its war with Hamas.


Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
Tribals stage horseback protest demanding road construction in ASR dist
Visakhapatnam: Tribals of Madarebu and Dayarthi hamlets in Ananthagiri mandal, Alluri Sitarama Raju district, staged a horseback protest on Friday, demanding that the government construct the road for which the foundation stone was laid by deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan. According to the protestors, around 2,500 tribals from 11 villages under the Pinnakota, Peddakota, and Jeenapadu panchayats are residing in the area. "The govt sanctioned Rs 11.64 crore for the construction of a 12-kilometre BT road from Ballagaruvu to Vajangi, via Peechu Mamidi, Gummanhti, and Dayarthi, and from Madarebu to Thuniseebu villages. However, even after seven months, the road construction has not commenced. Due to this delay, residents of the 11 PVTG villages are forced to walk several kilometres to access the nearest ration depot. The area also has eight MPP schools and eight Anganwadi centres, where even midday meals must be transported by horse. In the past, when a woman named Kondatamala Piluku died due to illness at KGH, Visakhapatnam, her body had to be carried seven kilometres back to her village. Just last month, another deceased villager named Babu had to be carried on shoulders to Madarebu. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It? Memory Health Learn More Undo When someone falls ill, they must travel 30 kilometres to reach a govt hospital, often in makeshift stretchers (dolis)," they said. "Though the state govt announced the roadworks and released funds, the project has not started to this day. We are facing immense hardships. We appeal to the ASR district collector and the govt to immediately initiate construction," the protestors added.