I hate pharmacies. I hate them because the only time I go in one, is when either I or a member of my family is sick. Plus, there were pharmacies all over the city in which I have lived for the last 25 years. It seemed like a new Walgreens was popping up across the street from the new CVS, which popped up across the street from old Rite Aid. Do we really need that many pharmacies?
Well, new data gives us some very interesting information regarding pharmacies and their impact on smoking and smoking cessation in America. I just wrote a post about how pharmacists have numerous occasions to talk to their clients about smoking cessation. It can be a tangible and potentially opportunistic conversation to kick start a customers quit attempt. After all, they've got all the NRT right there and can work with their MD to get a script for Zyban or Chantix. Makes perfect sense.
But here's the little dark secret that hides in the shadows. Did you know that by the year 2020, pharmacies (places we go to get healthier) will be responsible for almost 15% of all cigarette sales in the US? Does that blow your mind? But look behind the counter when you check out. What is in all those little rectangular packages? Yep, that's right - cigarettes. You know, I never put the two and two together before. I guess I just viewed the local neighborhood Walgreens as a cross between a grocery store and a five-and-dime.
This study, published in Tobacco Control, really shed the light on a rather ironic relationship. Who would have thunk it, huh? That's like going to the dentist to get a bag full of hard candy. What's even more weird, is that the national consumption for cigarettes has slightly declined overall. Meaning fewer people are buying cigarettes, but those who are still smoking, are getting them at the pharmacy with more frequency.
So next time you go to a pharmacy, look to see if they sell cigarettes. If they do, ask the manager if that represents some kind of conflict of interest. I'm not sure what kind of oath pharmacists take, if any, but it just doesn't seem like it passes the sniff test. Something about it just seems wrong.
