Over the three year period 1994 to 1996, the proportion of patients in the General Practice Research Database with treated asthma who were prescribed both bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids or cromoglycate increased from 63% to 66%. The increase was most marked in children of pre-school age.

In 1996, 65% of males and 67% of females with treated asthma were prescribed both bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids (or cromoglycate), 28% of males and 26% of females were prescribed bronchodilators alone and the remaining 7% were prescribed inhaled corticosteroids or cromoglycate alone.