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Will they ever get to the point where they decide to stop selling soda and junk food as well?

on_and_off 7y ago
As somebody that discovered the USA not so long ago, this was one of the weirdest parts. Pharmacies carry a lot of stuff that have nothing to do with health and that includes junk food.
- x0054 7y ago
  It’s business 101, you have to make your customers need you :)
- briandear 7y ago
  CVS isn’t just a pharmacy. It’s more of a variety store that also has a pharmacy.
  - bbanyc 7y ago
    CVS started as a variety store (it stood for Consumer Value Stores) and there are still a few older locations that don't have pharmacies, but pharmacy counter revenue has greatly outpaced "front store" revenue for a long time now. Today the parent company is called CVS Health and in addition to the retail chain it owns health insurer Aetna and pharmacy benefits manager Caremark. (As well as the pharmacy counters inside Target stores.) So CVS is primarily a pharmacy, unlike Walmart and Kroger, which are stores that have pharmacies.
    - plorkyeran 7y ago
      The pharmacy may be what makes most of the money, but I've never seen a CVS where the pharmacy was more than a tiny thing at the back of a large store.
      - Scoundreller 7y ago
        The turnover in dollars per volume is a lot higher for the meds in the back than the rest of the store. And the pharmacy creates a captive market of people that buy other items while they’re there. There’s a reason pharmacies keep getting bigger even though the dispensing area isn’t.
- catalogia 7y ago
  The "pharmacy" is the window/counter in the back of the store. A typical CVS will contain a pharmacy, but generally the fridge full of cola is not considered part of that pharmacy. You find similar "pharmacy within a more general store" arrangements in places like Walmart, many grocery stores, etc. In other words, Walmart is not a pharmacy but Walmart has a pharmacy.
  - soneca 7y ago
    That's true. When searching Google maps, the hours of the "CVS Pharmacy" are for the actual pharmacy inside the CVS store; which might close early than the general CVS store (under the term "CVS" only)
- dghughes 7y ago
  Soda pop was often sold in drug stores from soda fountains. The drink started off as medicine it was put in a form that was pleasant to consume sweet carbonated water. A YouTube channel Loft Pursuits has a video part of which explains soda pop. The video is about the NY Egg Cream but it starts off with the history of carbonated water and soda pop. In New York city in the early 1800s St. Patrick's cathedral was being constructed. Someone figured out the marble dust from the construction when mixed with acid created a cheap supply of carbon dioxide. Carbonated water was rare and expensive back then so this was a great opportunity. Candy stores in the area made syrups and sold it by mixing it was the carbonated water. https://youtu.be/YMGiOumwljY?t=209 https://youtu.be/YMGiOumwljY?t=209
basementcat 7y ago
Many pharmacies installed soda fountains and sold ice cream to give customers an excuse to give them even more money as they waited for their prescriptions to be prepared. Maybe doctors offices and mechanics should consider something similar.
- nitrogen 7y ago
  Didn't soda originate as a sort of "medicine" during the patent medicine days? (7-up had lithium, Coca-Cola had cocaine) If so, it makes more sense that a pharmacy would have a soda fountain.
  - eth0up 7y ago
    Red Bull cola, if still available, contains coca leaf and quite a few other less intriguing but delicious extracts; eg galangal, corn mint, mustard seed, cardamom,... It's my favorite cola, or was. The quality ingredients might explain the low popularity. Haven't seen it for years, and never at a pharmacy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull_Simply_Cola https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull_Simply_Cola
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    Both Pepsi and CocaCola were invented/created by pharmacists.
briandear 7y ago
Soda and junk food in moderation won’t kill you. There isn’t really a safe dose of tobacco. You can be very healthy and enjoy a Coke from time to time. Health isn’t about always avoiding junk — it’s about balance and moderation.
- et2o 7y ago
  Honestly you could make the exact same argument about cigarettes - until about 5-10 pack years (pack/day for year) there is no increased cancer risk. The problem is that people don’t smoke only one cigarette once a month or eat junk food once s month.
  - jghn 7y ago
    Do you have a source on that? This article seems to disagree with your statement: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2865193/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2865193/
- acollins1331 7y ago
  This is completely bunk. You could smoke a cigarette occasionally and it would be about as harmful as drinking a soda.
  - SamReidHughes 7y ago
    Yes, but cigarettes are much more addictive.
  - catalogia 7y ago
    I'd be curious to see what the stats actually are. What proportion of smokers are occasional smokers, and what proportion of soda drinkers are occasional soda drinkers? I would not expect similar distributions.
ojbyrne 7y ago
Maybe alcohol first. In California at least, they are well stocked.

As somebody that discovered the USA not so long ago, this was one of the weirdest parts. Pharmacies carry a lot of stuff that have nothing to do with health and that includes junk food.

x0054 7y ago
It’s business 101, you have to make your customers need you :)
briandear 7y ago
CVS isn’t just a pharmacy. It’s more of a variety store that also has a pharmacy.
- bbanyc 7y ago
  CVS started as a variety store (it stood for Consumer Value Stores) and there are still a few older locations that don't have pharmacies, but pharmacy counter revenue has greatly outpaced "front store" revenue for a long time now. Today the parent company is called CVS Health and in addition to the retail chain it owns health insurer Aetna and pharmacy benefits manager Caremark. (As well as the pharmacy counters inside Target stores.) So CVS is primarily a pharmacy, unlike Walmart and Kroger, which are stores that have pharmacies.
  - plorkyeran 7y ago
    The pharmacy may be what makes most of the money, but I've never seen a CVS where the pharmacy was more than a tiny thing at the back of a large store.
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      The turnover in dollars per volume is a lot higher for the meds in the back than the rest of the store. And the pharmacy creates a captive market of people that buy other items while they’re there. There’s a reason pharmacies keep getting bigger even though the dispensing area isn’t.
catalogia 7y ago
The "pharmacy" is the window/counter in the back of the store. A typical CVS will contain a pharmacy, but generally the fridge full of cola is not considered part of that pharmacy. You find similar "pharmacy within a more general store" arrangements in places like Walmart, many grocery stores, etc. In other words, Walmart is not a pharmacy but Walmart has a pharmacy.
- soneca 7y ago
  That's true. When searching Google maps, the hours of the "CVS Pharmacy" are for the actual pharmacy inside the CVS store; which might close early than the general CVS store (under the term "CVS" only)
dghughes 7y ago
Soda pop was often sold in drug stores from soda fountains. The drink started off as medicine it was put in a form that was pleasant to consume sweet carbonated water. A YouTube channel Loft Pursuits has a video part of which explains soda pop. The video is about the NY Egg Cream but it starts off with the history of carbonated water and soda pop. In New York city in the early 1800s St. Patrick's cathedral was being constructed. Someone figured out the marble dust from the construction when mixed with acid created a cheap supply of carbon dioxide. Carbonated water was rare and expensive back then so this was a great opportunity. Candy stores in the area made syrups and sold it by mixing it was the carbonated water. https://youtu.be/YMGiOumwljY?t=209 https://youtu.be/YMGiOumwljY?t=209

basementcat 7y ago

Many pharmacies installed soda fountains and sold ice cream to give customers an excuse to give them even more money as they waited for their prescriptions to be prepared. Maybe doctors offices and mechanics should consider something similar.

nitrogen 7y ago
Didn't soda originate as a sort of "medicine" during the patent medicine days? (7-up had lithium, Coca-Cola had cocaine) If so, it makes more sense that a pharmacy would have a soda fountain.
- eth0up 7y ago
  Red Bull cola, if still available, contains coca leaf and quite a few other less intriguing but delicious extracts; eg galangal, corn mint, mustard seed, cardamom,... It's my favorite cola, or was. The quality ingredients might explain the low popularity. Haven't seen it for years, and never at a pharmacy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull_Simply_Cola https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull_Simply_Cola
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  Both Pepsi and CocaCola were invented/created by pharmacists.

briandear 7y ago

Soda and junk food in moderation won’t kill you. There isn’t really a safe dose of tobacco. You can be very healthy and enjoy a Coke from time to time. Health isn’t about always avoiding junk — it’s about balance and moderation.

et2o 7y ago
Honestly you could make the exact same argument about cigarettes - until about 5-10 pack years (pack/day for year) there is no increased cancer risk. The problem is that people don’t smoke only one cigarette once a month or eat junk food once s month.
- jghn 7y ago
  Do you have a source on that? This article seems to disagree with your statement: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2865193/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2865193/
acollins1331 7y ago
This is completely bunk. You could smoke a cigarette occasionally and it would be about as harmful as drinking a soda.
- SamReidHughes 7y ago
  Yes, but cigarettes are much more addictive.
- catalogia 7y ago
  I'd be curious to see what the stats actually are. What proportion of smokers are occasional smokers, and what proportion of soda drinkers are occasional soda drinkers? I would not expect similar distributions.

ojbyrne 7y ago

Maybe alcohol first. In California at least, they are well stocked.