There are good habits that are worth repeating. Checking your medicine cabinet is one of them. That is why SIGRE is launching a new edition of ‘Buen Punto’, its awareness campaign to remind everyone of the importance of using medicines safely and disposing of them correctly.

Following the positive response in 2025, the three adverts are back, depicting familiar situations: hoarding out-of-date medicines, being reluctant to part with old medicine boxes, or keeping antibiotics ‘just in case’. Without causing alarm and in a friendly tone, the campaign encourages people to check their home medicine cupboards and take any leftover medicines and their packaging to the SIGRE collection point at their local pharmacy.

From 26 October until the end of November, the campaign will be rolled out across Spain via television, radio, the press and digital media, with a particular focus on people aged 55 and over and households with young children. As an initiative specifically aimed at the older generation, “Buen Punto” will also return to cinemas on Tuesdays during the campaign, coinciding with the Cine Sénior programme, which makes it easier for people aged 65 and over to attend.

“The proper use of medicines does not end when a course of treatment is finished. It also involves checking what we keep at home and knowing what to do with medicines we no longer need and their packaging. With ‘Buen Punto’, we want to show that humour also helps us remember actions that look after our health and the environment,” says Miguel Vega, managing director of SIGRE.

Checking the medicine cabinet: a good habit for our health and the environment

One of the key messages of ‘Buen Punto’ is to check your home medicine cabinet every six months to remove any medicines that have expired, are no longer needed or have not been stored properly, as well as empty packaging and leftover medicines from completed courses of treatment.

This waste must be deposited at the SIGRE collection point in the pharmacy and must never be thrown in the bin or down the drain. This avoids health risks and prevents environmental pollution. Recyclable materials from the packaging can be recycled, and the remaining medicines are treated in an environmentally sound manner.

The campaign also reminds the public that antibiotics must be used in accordance with healthcare professionals’ instructions and should not be kept for self-medication in the future. The message will be reinforced on 18 November, European Antibiotic Awareness Day, in light of the problem of antimicrobial resistance. A silent pandemic that already causes more than 24,000 deaths a year in Spain, and which could become the leading cause of death worldwide by 2050.

Pharmacies: key partners in reaching the public

Pharmacies will once again play an essential role: SIGRE will distribute information leaflets which will be available at SIGRE Points, where members of the public can also consult pharmacists with any queries.

The accessibility and advice provided by pharmacists are vital for promoting healthy and sustainable habits. Currently, more than 22,300 pharmacies collaborate with SIGRE across Spain, offering the public an accessible and trustworthy service.

This new edition comes at a time of growing participation: three out of every four Spanish households already use a SIGRE Point, and in 2025, nearly 5,400 tonnes of empty packaging or packaging containing traces of medicines were collected – 5.16 per cent more than the previous year. This progress encourages us to continue reinforcing these habits.

In the year of its 25th anniversary, SIGRE reminds us that looking after our health and the environment is always a “Good Move”.