Abstract
Little empirical data is available on the role of pharmacy as a provider of health food products (food supplements, herbal medicines, herbal teas, and health foods). Especially in the Nordic countries, where pharmacies have mainly concentrated on their principal professional task of dispensing drugs, the profession has been uncertain of its competence in selling and giving reliable information on health food products that are not legally approved and controlled like licensed pharmaceutical products. The purpose of this population-based study was to assess how the public perceives the role of the pharmacy as a source of health food products and related information. Even if 66% of the respondents regarded the pharmacy as a convenient place to buy health food products, only 15% of respondents used the pharmacy as their sole outlet for health food products. A majority had a clear preference for health food shops as a source for purchases (56%) and information (57%). Preference for a pharmacy was associated with perceived satisfaction with pharmacy services and the pharmacy's professional characteristics, such as reliability and safety. If pharmacy intentionally wants to increase its market share of the health food products market, it must put much more effort into this service area. But first, the profession must evaluate whether the commercial value of these services is worth the impact they may have on the professional image of pharmacy.