Pharmacy staff should be proactive when selling OTC weight loss products

摘要

I welcome the attention drawn to over-the-counter weight loss products by Terry Maguires Broad spectrum article(PJ,26 July 2008,p96).I have recendy been involved in conducting surveys in two local primary care trusts into the availability of these products.1 These surveys have shown that up to 72 per cent of community pharmacies hold one or more of these products in stock,particularly those near to the city centre.Furthermore,during telephone interviews in one PCT,none of the 57 pharmacists we spoke to who stocked them had received any training in weight management.Sales were restricted by some pharmacists by virtue of product positioning within the pharmacy but all staff were permitted to sell the products.