The cost of prescriptions has gone up by 25% in the last decade, with new figures also showing paracetamol and aspirin are among the most commonly dispensed pills in Scotland.

NHS figures showed the total bill for prescriptions in 2017-18 amounted to £1.3bn - an increase of 3.3% on the previous year and 25.7% more expensive than ten years ago.

The overall cost amounted to almost £250 per person in Scotland, according to the data.

Prescriptions have been free in Scotland since April 2011, a policy introduced by the SNP government.

The latest figures showed 103.4 million items dispensed on prescription in 2017-18 - a 20.5% increase from the total of 85.8 million ten years ago.

Pregabalin, a drug used to treat epilepsy and chronic pain, had the highest total gross ingredient cost in 2017-18, at £36.38m.

Meanwhile the most commonly prescribed medication was omeprazole - used to treat indigestion, acid reflux and stomach ulcers - with a total of 3.59 million prescriptions issued.

Painkillers paracetamol and aspirin - both of which are available over the counter without a prescription - were the fourth and eighth most commonly issued prescriptions, at 2.5 million and 2.01 million respectively.

Reasons for the increase in the number of prescriptions issued over the decade include an ageing population, more people living with long-term conditions and the increased use by GPs of evidence-based guidelines that recommend drugs to treat certain conditions, the NHS report said.

Across Scotland the amount spent on prescriptions amounted to an average of £248.79 for 2017-18.

In the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, Scotland's largest health board, that rose to £271.30 per person, while NHS Orkney had the lowest average cost at £206.28 per person.

Scottish Conservative shadow health spokesman Miles Briggs said the figures were "concerning".

He added: "With drugs such as paracetamol and aspirin often cheaper to purchase over the counter, we need to ensure that we are getting value for money for our NHS."

Mr Briggs called on the SNP to outline how they planned to deal with the rising costs of prescriptions.

Health secretary Jeane Freeman responded by noting that legislation controlling how much the NHS pays for medicines is reserved to the UK Government.

The SNP, she said, continued to press Westminster to ensure drugs were being made available at best value prices.

Ms Freeman added: "The increase in costs for drugs dispensed in the community is in line with anticipated trends and reflects the fact more patients are being treated closer to home with specialist medicines traditionally reserved for hospital.

"These new treatments deliver better outcomes for patients and are best value for money for the NHS, however we expect NHS Scotland to always look for opportunities to work with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost for drugs wherever possible."