Tag Archives: pharmacy

The number of smokers in England has hit a record low. Only 18.7% of people now smoke and the number is continuing to fall, according to the Office of National Statistics. If you are still trying to quit the habit, visit your local pharmacy and ask about how they can help. You will be in good company in wanting to stop smoking.

Smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable illness and premature deaths in the country – accounting for nearly 80,000 deaths in England alone every year. One in every two long-term smokers will die prematurely from a smoking related disease unless they quit. Time to see your pharmacist!

Looking to stop smoking in the New Year? Do you want to boost your chances of success from 3% to 20%? Here’s how.

Just 3% of people are successful when they rely on will power alone. Add in some support and nicotine replacement therapy and this increases to 20%.

Call into one of our pharmacies and ask one of our specially trained expert advisers about our Stop Smoking services.

It’s important to plan now for a New Year’s Day quit date.

Make your New Year a good one.

People often don’t seek advice for wheezes, coughs and sneezes because they don’t think it’s serious enough, or they don’t want to waste their pharmacist’s time. But no problem is too small for your local pharmacist, who is a highly trained and trusted source of health advice.

Leaving it until it’s a problem may lead to a visit to A&E that could have been avoided.

Vitamin D is important for keeping bones and teeth healthy. A lack of the vitamin can lead to deformities such as rickets in children, and a condition known as osteomalacia in adults which causes pain and tenderness.

In England, around a fifth of adults and a sixth of children – around 10 million people –may have low vitamin D status. This is partly because the main source for vitamin D is from natural sunlight, and from mid-October to the beginning of April there is no sunlight at the correct wavelength for skin to create vitamin D.

Certain groups of people in the UK are also more likely to have lack of vitamin D. These include pregnant women, children and older adults. People with darker skin or who cover up when outdoors are also at risk of having low vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D is found in foods such as oily fish and fortified breakfast cereals, but if you think are missing out you can always buy a vitamin D supplement from your pharmacy. Ask your pharmacist for advice on the dose – adults should not exceed 0.025mg a day.