A recent survey found that pharmacists are an underused resource of vitamin and supplement knowledge. Consumers should, without a doubt, take advantage of this. So, why aren’t consumers taking advantage of this? Let’s take a closer look.

A new US-wide survey found that pharmacists are significantly less likely to face questions from customers about vitamins and supplements compared to OTC and prescription medications. Approximately 50% of consumers would ask pharmacists about prescriptions meds, 35% of consumers would inquire about OTC drugs and about 23% would ask about vitamin and supplements.

So why the discrepancy?

• Prescription medications could be perceived as more dangerous than OTCs and supplements, requiring specific directions of use, dosages and the somewhat “intimidating” names could elicit consumers in asking their pharmacists about the drugs before taking them.

• Supplements and OTC drugs have much of the information on the label, free for the consumer’s perusal, while prescription medications information is not as assessable. Perhaps many of the questions consumers are already answered by the label itself, rather than having to ask the pharmacist.

• For someone like myself, I do question how pharmacists are educated about supplements. There is no doubt in my mind that that they are more knowledgeable about prescription medications than they are about supplements. Nothing turns me off of asking a pharmacist more than when he/she tries to answer my questions by reading the product label.

The survey mentions that pharmacists recommend brands they know, that have third party certification and/or make reference to potency, safety and quality. That still leaves a lot of brands on the shelves, so how do they ultimately make their recommendation?

It’s also important to note that there are brands that are just as good as others, but do not carry third party certification, but can be less expensive than their third party-certified counter parts.
With this said, what can we take away from this survey? The ultimate message – do ask your pharmacist about supplements. Ask them tough questions too – don’t be afraid to pick their brain. Even if they don’t know the answer, it will trigger them to ask the brand of supplements for the answer. It would also trigger supplement companies to better educate pharmacists and may help clarify myths and stigmas associated with dietary supplements.

Bottom Line: Your pharmacist is a good resource for dietary supplements and vitamins – do not be afraid to ask him/her if you have any questions. And if they don’t know the answer, at least they’ll go and find out for you from the source, rather than us having to settle with an answer from Yahoo Answers. Yuck.

You can check out the details of the survey here.

If you’re selling a dietary supplement and think your tweets and Facebook updates are outside the realm of FDA’s rule – think again! FDA just cracked down on one company for its misleading claims posted on its website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Let’s break it down.

The FDA closes out 2011 with a warning letter to Nenningers Naturals for making misleading claims for its products, Triple Flu Defense. The website claims this product can ease flu vaccine side effects, relieve flu symptoms, is a unique homeopathic product and made in a US FDA laboratory, Let’s take a quick look at what happened:

• Triple Flu Defense makes claims to treat conditions and/or diseases. This then automatically takes the product out of the dietary supplements category and into the drug category. The product is then evaluated as a drug by the FDA.
• Testimonials on a company website are considered as health claims marketed by a company.
• There is only one ingredient in the formula that is recognized as a homeopathic ingredient. In order for the product to be a homeopathic medicine, all ingredients must be recognized homeopathic ingredients recognized by the HPUS (Homeopathic Pharmacopeia).
• Twitter and Facebook updates state: “Start your weekly prevention now”. In case you haven’t noticed, it is a labeling requirement for dietary supplements to state the following disclaimer “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”

Looks like Nenninger’s in some trouble. The good news is that none of this comes as a shocker and those that think FDA is unreasonable and has grandiose plans to shut every company down should think again. Nenninger’s got caught red handed for simply not following the regulations. Stick to the regulations and you won’t have this problem. It really is that simple.

• Don’t make disease prevention or treatment claims.
• If your product is supposed to be a homeopathic product, then following the guidelines and formulate it as such.
• Don’t post testimonials that reflect prevention or treatment claims.
• Don’t tweet or update your Facebook status with prevention or treatment claims.

If your product is supposed to be a dietary supplement, then market it as such and label it as such and by all means, follow the regulations for dietary supplements.

What’s next for Nenninger’s? they have to make some (costly) adjustments to their website, product labeling and marketing campaign. They have 15 days to respond to the FDA and the response better be good. The longer you hold out or if you provide an ambiguous response, the harder FDA will follow up their enforcement.

This type of situation is quite common. I’m not sure if it’s purely a lack of regulatory knowledge on Nenninger’s part (especially if it’s a small startup) or if they intended to turn a blind eye to the regulations. Either way, it doesn’t matter – they got caught.

If you’re selling supplements, make sure you’re in the loop and follow the regulations!

If you’re a regular consumer: whether this product works or not, Nenninger’s was quite misleading to you, branding their product as a homeopathic product when it isn’t. On top of that, they state their product is made in a FDA approved laboratory. That statement really means very little and the product should be made in a GMP compliant facility, not laboratory.

Bottom Line: If you’re a supplement manufacturer or distributor, learn from Nenninger’s mistake. Watch what you tweet, what you post on Facebook and what’s on your website!