It's probably a sweeping statement but I think the UK is a nation of pill poppers & a nation of doctors who prescribe quite freely. A close friend is a practice nurse & says their elderly patients get repeat prescriptions without regular reviews & if they are called in for one they have a strop. Our body's needs change all the time & someone who required medication for high blood pressure in their 50s may not require it after retirement. Someone very close to us is terminally ill & taking a heavy dose of steroids, his wife watches him closely & he has an amazing gp who is also monitoring him, awareness is paramount.