Have you been faced with the dilemma of choosing between a bottle of Advil and it’s generic equivalent? The generic medicine costs less, but is it as effective? Yes, choosing a generic will work as effectively as the name brand medicine. The FDA requires the generic brands to provide the same strength and purity as the name brand drugs. For instance, a bottle of Aleve liquid-gels cost $5.89 for 20 220-milligram tablets of naproxen – the same size generic brand of liquid-gels costs $3.79.

Comparing labels on name brand pain relievers can also help you spend more wisely. Advil makes a 24-tablet bottle of 200 milligram pills for $3.48.  Advil Migraine has a 20-tablet bottle, also with 200 milligrams of ibuprofen – but costs $4.12.  Buying the bottle of Advil gives you more of the same size pills, and saves you a bit of money.

The way medicines are marketed can have an effect on our purchasing choices.  The packaging of a bottle of Aleve, and where it is placed on a grocery store shelf may be advantageous, but the medicine is the same as in the generic bottle.  Similarly, the bottle of Advil Migraine may score some points with migraineurs, but it actually costs more, and has less of the same medicine that is inside the bottle of Advil.    Daily Finance   8/14/12

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