OBJECTIVES:  To determine whether there is a  relationship between pharmaceutical consumption and health care results. This issue is of highest importance in the French political debate, France being one of the countries in Europe with the highest pharmaceutical consumption and related expenses.   METHODS: The levels of health care status of seven European countries (France, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK) are compared through a range of indicators coming from sources (OECD, Eurostat, WHO) or scientific publications and systematically analyzed in comparison with health care and pharmaceutical expenses in each country. The analysis first relies on global health care indicators such as life expectancy, life expectancy without disability and mortality rates by causes. A focus is then made on the two major causes of death in Europe: cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Analysis is conducted on 2004 data. RESULTS: The highest life expectancy at 65, both for men and women, is positively correlated with the level of pharmaceutical consumption and expenses. Several studies (OMS) have suggested the high level of performance of the French health care system. The rather low level of life expectancy at birth for men is mostly the results of high mortality rates for external causes (suicides, injuries), independent from the healthcare system. Low mortality rates for cardiovascular diseases are associated with good management of risk factors through pharmaceutical treatments (hypolipidemic drugs). Regarding cancer, good results in terms of survival rates at five years are associated with a level of drug consumption high in value but more moderate in volume, this suggesting the use of innovating products. CONCLUSIONS: While it is not possible to demonstrate a firm cause-to-effect relationship between the relatively high investment in health care and the relatively better health care status in France compared with its European neighbours, a range of facts and figures do converge in support of this hypothesis.