Pharmacy placement of nonprescription nicotine replacement therapy products and community pharmacists' counseling for product use.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between nonprescription nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product placement within community pharmacies and the number of patients whom pharmacists report counseling for use of these products.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Four Northern California counties.

PARTICIPANTS

327 community pharmacists.

INTERVENTIONS

Survey mailed in 1999-2000.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Estimated number of NRT purchasers who received counseling in their pharmacy and pharmacists' level of control over NRT purchases and counseling as functions of the location of the NRT products within the pharmacy setting.

RESULTS

Of 327 community pharmacists surveyed, 26 (8.0%) reported that all nonprescription NRT products were stocked behind the pharmacy counter (full control over NRT purchases and counseling), 46 (14.1%) reported that all NRT products were stocked outside of the pharmacy department in an area that could not be seen easily by the pharmacist (no control), and the remainder (n = 255; 78.0%) indicated that all NRT products were located within their visual field but not behind the counter and/or that NRT products were located in more than one of the three previously described store locations (i.e., behind counter, not behind counter but within visual field, and outside visual field) (partial control). While adjusting for known confounders (pharmacists' self-efficacy for counseling, practice setting, and perceived pros of counseling), NRT product location was significantly associated with counseling of four or more patients a month for use of these products (P = .005). Specifically, compared with pharmacists with no control over NRT purchases and counseling, pharmacists with full control were 4.73 (95% CI, 1.46-15.37) times as likely to counsel four or more patients per month, and pharmacists with partial control were 2.95 (95% CI, 1.47-5.94) times as likely. Compared with pharmacists with partial control, pharmacists with full control were 1.60 (95% CI, 0.58-4.41) times as likely to counsel at least four patients monthly (P = .361).

CONCLUSION

The location of nonprescription NRT products within the community pharmacy setting is associated with the number of patients whom pharmacists report counseling for use of these products.