In Western states, many drugstores have expanded their offerings to include booze and even firearms. Although you still can't buy guns in Georgia drugstores, you can buy everything from a Lean Cuisine to an alien headlamp. The average Walgreens store is 14,000 square feet, while the average independent drugstore is about 2,500 square feet. Hively says the chains are expanding their cooler space to carry more frozen foods and dairy items. So now customers can pick up a slab of bacon and a frozen pizza while waiting for their prescription to be filled.
Customers also can access a library of medical journals and books.
And, coupled with the overall increase in drug sales, it has translated into more stores. Before we choose a particular site, we do about 80 pages of research. And they are easier to get in and out of than the typical strip mall. But as always, politics and technology are swiftly working to produce a cure. In May, health plans, unions, several large employers and consumer advocates asked the FDA to tighten controls on drug advertising, according to The New York Times .