Reports on total national expenditure on TM/CAM are scarce. Information on national out-of-pocket expenditure for self-treatment with TM/CAM is even more scant. But some figures are available and, with TM/CAM gaining in use worldwide, public and private expenditure is clearly on the increase. In Malaysia, an estimated US$ 500 million is spent annually on TM/CAM, compared to about US$ 300 million on allopathic medicine.⁶ In the USA, total 1997 out-of-pocket CAM expenditure was estimated at US$ 2700 million, which was comparable to the projected 1997 out-of-pocket expenditure for all physician services.¹³ In the United Kingdom, annual CAM expenditure is estimated at US$ 2300 million respectively.¹⁶ In Canada, it is estimated that a total of US$ 2400 million was spent in 1997 - 1997 on CAM.⁸

The world market for herbal medicines based on traditional knowledge is now estimated at US$ 60 thousand million.¹⁷ In the USA, herbal sales increased by 101% in mainstream markets between May 1996 and May 1998. The most popular herbal products include ginseng, Ginkgo biloba, garlic, Echinacea spp. and St. John's wort (Table 4).¹⁸