They can go to the healthfood store, where staff is quite accessible. But this thought scares me a little. I read a rather enlightening article on the Reuters Health News service about the issue of herbal knowledge. A pharmacology student posing as a consumer visited healthfood stores and pharmacies to ask questions about herbal products. When employees of healthfood stores were asked questions about the dangers of St. John's wort, ginkgo and valerian, almost half of them gave incorrect answers.
Consumers can also go to their doctors for answers.
But many doctors may not have the knowledge or references available to answer questions about herbal products. To further complicate the issue, patients might not tell their doctors that they are taking herbal products. In fact, a recent article stated that only 39 per cent of patients using complementary therapies told their physicians. However, accessibility is a problem and the services may not be covered under most medical insurance plans. Of course, it is the pharmacist.