The reporters complained of feeling tired or nervous, and asked whether a vitamin product might help. Seventeen were sold a vitamin product and one was sold an amino acid preparation. In 1987, two pharmacy school professors sent a questionnaire to 1000 pharmacists in the Detroit metropolitan area and received 197 responses. Merlin Nelson, M.D., Pharm. D., coauthor of the above-mentioned survey, has asked pharmacists why they promote and sell food supplements to healthy individuals who don't need them.
Advertising creates a demand that the pharmacist can supply and make a profit.
Pharmacists are apparently more interested in a sale than in the patient's welfare. . . . Rather than just recommending a multivitamin to patients concerned about obtaining enough vitamins in their diet, pharmacists should offer sound nutritional advice or provide referrals to experts in nutrition such as registered dietitians. Although some pharmacists have stopped, the majority do not consider tobacco sales unethical. The American Pharmaceutical Association's code of ethics does not state that pharmacists have a duty to prevent dubious products from lining their shelves. Five states have laws declaring it illegal for pharmacists to sell ineffective products, but these laws have never been applied to the sale of OTC products.