From collagen powders and natural supplements to LED light masks and AI advice, Irish community pharmacists have united to say misinformation is one of the biggest threats facing healthcare today.
Vital Pharmacies, a group of independent community pharmacists from across Ireland, is raising concerns about the growing number of patients making important healthcare decisions based on advice from social media influencers, AI tools and online ‘real customer’ testimonials.
Highlighting how some patients are now replacing prescribed medication with natural supplement alternatives, the independent pharmacy group wants patients to know that ‘natural’ is not always better or indeed safer.
According to Sheena Mitchell, spokesperson for the Vital Pharmacy Group and host of The Irish Pharmacy Podcast, “Pharmacists are increasingly seeing patients who are overwhelmed, confused and spending significant sums on health products that may have little evidence to support the claims being made online.
"It's becoming increasingly difficult to separate genuine science from clever marketing," she warned.
One growing concern is the rise in people believing that, because a product is marketed as ‘natural’, it must automatically be safer than prescription medicine.
"Natural doesn't automatically mean safe," Mitchell explained. "Many supplements can interact with prescription medicines, while others simply don't have the scientific evidence behind the health claims being made. Every person is different, which is why health advice should always be tailored to the individual."
According to Ms Mitchell one of the most worrying trends that pharmacists encounter is when patients quietly stop taking prescribed medication in favour of supplements or other products recommended online to treat a condition.
"That's when it becomes a patient safety issue," she warned. "No one should ever stop prescribed medication without discussing it with a healthcare professional first."
The warning comes as Episode Two of The Irish Pharmacy Podcast features scientist and author Dr David Robert Grimes discussing how misinformation spreads so effectively online and why even intelligent, educated people can be persuaded by confident health claims that lack robust evidence.
Sheena Mitchell says social media has also transformed beauty and skincare into a health conversation, with products such as collagen supplements and LED light therapy masks now being heavily marketed using scientific language and healthcare credentials.
“The important question isn't whether someone is persuasive, it's whether the claims they're making are supported by high-quality scientific evidence," she said.
Ms Mitchell, owner of Milltown Pharmacy, believes community pharmacists are uniquely placed to help consumers navigate the explosion of health information online.
“If we don't know the answer immediately, we'll go away, review the latest evidence, consult trusted clinical resources and come back with our informed opinion," she said. "That's what evidence-based healthcare looks like."
As Dr David Robert Grimes reminds us of the facts surrounding the people profiting from those who want to support our health, it’s easy to see how marketing strategy wins out in an unregulated ‘wellness industry’ compared to ‘big pharma’.
“The global pharma industry is worth about $1.5 trillion a year," Dr Grimes said. "It's huge. However, the global wellness industry is valued at around $6.3 trillion, more than four times the size. Yet, there is no evidence base there. There is no obligation for regulation. The health claims are not checked. The marketing is uninhibited.
“If you get a medicine in a pharmacy, you know that's been peer-reviewed, tested, checked and is regulated by an Irish and a European regulator.
“It is the influencers that cosplay as scientists, wearing a lab coat to sell their own or affiliated product that annoy the hell out of me. They flash up a lot of beautiful studies that seem to solve a problem or speak to a vulnerability. My expertise is largely research methodology so when the only evidence that the product is any good are the studies from the companies that are selling them, that's an interesting tell. That’s a bias right there.”
