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> Grocery store carts are more likely to have carts with wonky wheels than ... drugstores Do countries other than the US have shopping carts in their "drug sto

> Grocery store carts are more likely to have carts with wonky wheels than ... drugstores Do countries other than the US have shopping carts in their "drug stores"?

twodave 3y ago
I live in the US and haven’t ever seen a shopping cart in a drug store… maybe that’s why they stay so nice :)
- chrisco255 3y ago
  They exist, but they're smaller than supermarket shopping carts.
- anotheruser13 3y ago
  In Chicago, shopping carts used to be commonly found in Osco Drugs, mostly because they were attached to Jewel Food stores. A few Dominick's groceries had Walgreens drugstores attached, but there weren't many of those.
al_borland 3y ago
For those outside of the US looking to answer, here is some context from the US. “Drug stores” in the US double as convenience stores. There is a pharmacy in the back along with over the counter medications, but they also sell cosmetics, basic prepackaged food, toys, alcohol, magazines, greeting cards, and other such things. It’s not like Americans are buying carts full of drugs. I also think drug stores generally have the small baskets, not the large carts one might find at a grocery store.
- slimsag 3y ago
  Really it's the opposite. It's called a pharmacy, but in practice it is a convenience store first, and a pharmacy second. Often times the pharmacy is closed, has restricted hours, is understaffed, etc.
  - chrisco255 3y ago
    Not really. Walgreens and CVS are basically this, and many of them have 24 hour pharmacies.
    - thsksbd 3y ago
      Where in the US do you live that you have easy access to a 24 hour pharmacy? In my corner of the USA the only 24 hour pharmacy is in the children's hospital, about 15 miles away from my house. I have three hospitals with ERs within 5 miles but no pharmacy.
      - bombcar 3y ago
        Walgreens has quite a few around here. It’s something they advertise. They were much more common before Covid, when places like Walmart were 24 hours.
      - Cheer2171 3y ago
        Any major metropolitan area. Walgreens has dozens of 24 hour pharmacies in the Chicago metro area: https://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/find.jsp?24-hour-pharmacy=true https://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/find.jsp?24-hour-phar...
        jrochkind1 3y ago
        Today I learned another reason that despite appearances Baltimore is not a "major metropolitan area". I'm not being sarcastic, it really doesn't have the economy of one. But I also wonder if it's just the very largest cities that have easy 24 hour pharmacy access.
        rascul 3y ago
        > But I also wonder if it's just the very largest cities that have easy 24 hour pharmacy access. I live near a city with population of about 50k. It has a 24 hour Walgreens.
- chupchap 3y ago
  > alcohol Please tell me it's not the drinking kind?
  - mewpmewp2 3y ago
    It is a *drug* store.
  - JoyfulTurkey 3y ago
    Where I am (Ohio, USA), drug stores like CVS/Wallgreens sell beer, wine. Hard liquor over a certain alcohol percent is only available at a state liquor agency.
    - Scoundreller 3y ago
      And cigarettes in Nevada
  - xboxnolifes 3y ago
    Like they said, it doubles as a convenience store. In the states where convenience stores can sell alcohol (most of them), yes.
  - devbent 3y ago
    In Washington state, drug stores dedicate as much or more space to booze, including high proof liquors, as they do to medical goods.
  - justinclift 3y ago
    Why not?
    - blackoil 3y ago
      In many parts of world, it would be seen ironic. Like a gym selling junk food.
      - listenallyall 3y ago
- kapep 3y ago
  I would describe German drug stores in the same way (except that they don't contain a pharmacy and can't sell over the counter drugs). Smaller drug stores in big cities have a few small carts if any but often it's just baskets that you carry. Larger ones usually have carts. I don't think it's odd for them to have carts though, drug stores sell a lot of cleaning stuff which can be heavy and toilet paper which can fill up a cart pretty quick.
  - jrochkind1 3y ago
    > I would describe German drug stores in the same way (except that they don't contain a pharmacy and can't sell over the counter drugs) So, in the USA they are called "drug stores" because they sell... drugs. Prescription and over the counter. Are these really called drug stores, or using the German word for drugs, even though they don't sell them... because of their overlap with the non-drug business that the American ones have come to donate more square feet (and prob more revenue) to? Or for other reasons unrelated to USA practice?
    - kapep 3y ago
      They are called "Drogerie" or "Drogeriemarkt" which could be quite translated to drug store. Just like in the other comment about the Netherlands, a pharmacy is called "Apotheke" in Germany and only they are allowed to sell prescription drugs and most over-the-counter drugs. You can't get Aspirin or Ibuprofen in a Drogeriemarkt here. I think traditionally the line was more blurred between pharmacies and drug stores but regulations changed that and our drug stores became some kind of specialized (mainly non-food) supermarkets. I'm actually not sure if the definition of over-the-counter drugs can be applied in the same way in Germany. We have prescription drugs and non-prescription drugs. Non-prescription drugs are still limited to be sold by pharmacies only by default, for example Ibuprofen (but only in small quantities). Some selected categories of less potent drugs or pharmaceutical products can be sold by any store (and even then only if they can prove they employ someone with sufficient expertise).
    - consp 3y ago
      Don't know how they are called in Germany but I guess it's similar as in the Netherlands: These "non drug" stores are called a "drogisterij" (and the English translation will be 'drugstore'), which is from a "chemist's shop" which in the past used to sell all kinds of stuff including medicine. These days the real drugstores are now solely called "apotheken" (pharmacies), I guess to distinguish them from each other. There is some overlap with the two as the pharmacies also sell OTC drugs. edit: The pharmacy where I used to live as a kid was more of a drug store in the US sense with a pharmacy in the back, which also acts as the cashier, and the rest of the store was filled with all kinds of household products like beauty and cleaning.
justsomehnguy 3y ago
Do people in other countries buy paracetamol and aspirin in 10L bottles so they wouldn't need to run their F4999 trucks to a drugstore every week?
- freddie_mercury 3y ago
  Most countries have laws limiting the size of paracetamol & aspirin bottles to reduce overdoses & suicides. The UK passed a law in 1998 about it and saw suicides from overdoses drop 21% and liver transplants from paracetamol poisoning drop 66%. "Numbers of tablets per pack of paracetamol and salicylates decreased markedly in the year after the change in legislation on 16 September 1998. The annual number of deaths from paracetamol poisoning decreased by 21% (95% confidence interval 5% to 34%) and the number from salicylates decreased by 48% (11% to 70%). Liver transplant rates after paracetamol poisoning decreased by 66% (55% to 74%). The rate of non-fatal self poisoning with paracetamol in any form decreased by 11% (5% to 16%), mainly because of a 15% (8% to 21%) reduction in overdoses of paracetamol in non-compound form."
  - dtgriscom 3y ago
    What are the limits? (Asked as a US guy who buys the 500 x 500mg bottles at BJ's.)
    - justinclift 3y ago
      Interesting. How long does one of those bottles last for you? --- In Australia, the regulating body for that stuff announced new limits back in 2023. They'll apply from Feb 2025 onwards: https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-final-decision-reduce-paracetamol-pack-sizes https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-final-d... * reduce the maximum size of packs available for general sale (e.g. supermarkets and convenience stores) from 20 to 16 tablets or capsules * reduce the maximum size of packs available in pharmacies without the supervision of a pharmacist (i.e. ‘Pharmacy Only’ packs) from 100 to 50 tablets or capsules * make other pack sizes of up to 100 tablets or capsules available only under the supervision of a pharmacist (‘Pharmacist Only’ medicines). Those limits don't seem all that different from the existing pack sizes commonly on shelves though. So there's very likely some existing limits around pack sizes already.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
rnewme 3y ago
Yea. Look up DM
- rnewme 3y ago
  Not sure why I'm being down voted for this but dm is definitely eu drug store with carts :D
  - justinclift 3y ago
    "DM" is the store name? Do they have a website? I was thinking you might have been meaning Denmark or something, as it wasn't clear. :) Didn't down vote you though.
    - rnewme 3y ago
      Yes, yes, dm.de Thanks for the comment :)
jackson1way 3y ago
In Germany you have something close to „drug stores in the US“ but minus the pharmacy. For example: dm, Müller, Rossmann. The bigger ones (especially dm) actually always have shopping carts. It‘s very common for people to buy large things in these stores, like toilet paper, baby diapers etc. which can easily fill a shopping cart.
- rob74 3y ago
  Yup, actually dm is short for "Drogeriemarkt", which could be translated as "drug market". And yes, due to legislation in Germany, they can only sell things like vitamin supplements, "real" drugs (even non-prescription ones) can only be sold in pharmacies.
  - dayjaby 3y ago
    My grandfather was a "Drogist" and his job was not to sell drugs, but anything pharmacy/chemistry related: "I got that oily dirt on my jacket" - "Say no more, I mix you the perfect soap for this". That feels quite the same as dm/Rossmann/.. from a customer point of view. The modern word Droge/drug does not mean what it used to mean.
    - tecleandor 3y ago
      Seem like that's common in continental Europe. In Spain in a "droguería" you would find something quite similar to a DM: cleaning supplies, some chemicals, personal hygiene and cosmetic products and the like. A "drogaria" in Portugal probably would a bit more similar like a hardware store, but also in the theme...
      - lloeki 3y ago
        > Seem like that's common in continental Europe. Yeah, it's a very historical thing dating back from times of Marco Polo, the Silk Road, and the likes. In France we have "pharmacie", "droguerie", "épicerie", and "quincaillerie". - "pharmacie" is the regulated medical thing, historically it was "apothicaire" (apothecary) - "quincaillerie" is where you get hardware ("quincaille") like screws, tubes, metal parts, and whatnot, and by extension, tools. By extension "quincaille" coloquially refers to small, cheap stuff in a derogatory way (akin to "lemon" but for small things). - "droguerie" is where you get various general usage, non-medical stuff, from hygiene to ; it is part of "épicerie", where it used to be "all manners of drugs sold under the merchand guild, from dye pigments to perfume, hygiene products and cosmetics, as well as medicine". In the XVIII century the "drugs" term largely meant "things of small value that you can put on the market" and "mixes for which only artists and craftsmen hold the secret". With this definition you can see how it grew from "épicerie" (=> "spicery", a shop for spice) from the economy market of bringing such goods from specific countries like North Africa, Middle East, India, China and whatnot. Pigments, spice, and medicine were obtained from foreign sources and highly sought after. Of course this could involve a deal of mysticism and exotic mystery, a perfect recipe for snake-oil medicine and once medical goods began to be regulated it is left with "alternative" medicinal things. - "épicerie" used to cover all of the above, but today it's your corner-shop that has a bit of everything and is open most of the time to 24/7 (bordering on the illegal, or outright skirting opening hour laws) and saves you in a pinch. These businesses are often held by people of above areas ascendance, not really surprising given the history of it.
Semaphor 3y ago
Germany was mentioned, South Africa is another country that has drug stores, including the Pharmacy, e.g. Clicks.
ta1243 3y ago
I've certainly been to big Boots stores in the UK with small trolleys - the ones that are like a basket on wheels at waist height
wisty 3y ago
Australian ones have a retail section with band-aids, non-prescription medicine, vitamins, nappies, sunscreen, skincare, hair care and "natural medicines" most of which are borderline frauds. Maybe no trollies though.
koliber 3y ago
For people from Europe not familiar with the big drug stores the parent is referring to: these drug stores are more like a Rossman with a pharmacy counter in the back.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- dsego 3y ago
  Not familiar with Rossman but with german DM (drogerie markt) & Muller being well represented in my country (and I presumed other ones in Europe) for over a decade or more, I thought this concept had already been established in all of Europe.
  - AdamN 3y ago
    In the US, a drug store is a DM with a pharmacy in the back. There are way fewer independent pharmacies in the US nowadays as 'drug stores' have taken over.
    - dsego 3y ago
      Things are getting more interfused all the time, like there is this store 'farmacia' where I live, looks like a pharmacy, sells pills, but you can't pick up prescriptions because it's not a real pharmacy. Then the national postal offices sell gadgets and trinkets, likely because sending actual mail is in decline, and package delivery is better served by private delivery services. Gas stations have even started selling bread because of a new law that prevents grocery stores and malls from working on most Sundays.
      - bombcar 3y ago
        Around here gas stations sell bread and other basic grocery things because it gets people into the store. Our local gas station stores are bigger than the first supermarkets, probably. Multiple aisles and fresh produce, etc.
      - 3y ago

> Grocery store carts are more likely to have carts with wonky wheels than ... drugstores Do countries other than the US have shopping carts in their "drug stores"?

twodave 3y ago

I live in the US and haven’t ever seen a shopping cart in a drug store… maybe that’s why they stay so nice :)

chrisco255 3y ago
They exist, but they're smaller than supermarket shopping carts.
anotheruser13 3y ago
In Chicago, shopping carts used to be commonly found in Osco Drugs, mostly because they were attached to Jewel Food stores. A few Dominick's groceries had Walgreens drugstores attached, but there weren't many of those.

al_borland 3y ago

For those outside of the US looking to answer, here is some context from the US. “Drug stores” in the US double as convenience stores. There is a pharmacy in the back along with over the counter medications, but they also sell cosmetics, basic prepackaged food, toys, alcohol, magazines, greeting cards, and other such things. It’s not like Americans are buying carts full of drugs. I also think drug stores generally have the small baskets, not the large carts one might find at a grocery store.

slimsag 3y ago
Really it's the opposite. It's called a pharmacy, but in practice it is a convenience store first, and a pharmacy second. Often times the pharmacy is closed, has restricted hours, is understaffed, etc.
- chrisco255 3y ago
  Not really. Walgreens and CVS are basically this, and many of them have 24 hour pharmacies.
  - thsksbd 3y ago
    Where in the US do you live that you have easy access to a 24 hour pharmacy? In my corner of the USA the only 24 hour pharmacy is in the children's hospital, about 15 miles away from my house. I have three hospitals with ERs within 5 miles but no pharmacy.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      Walgreens has quite a few around here. It’s something they advertise. They were much more common before Covid, when places like Walmart were 24 hours.
    - Cheer2171 3y ago
      Any major metropolitan area. Walgreens has dozens of 24 hour pharmacies in the Chicago metro area: https://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/find.jsp?24-hour-pharmacy=true https://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/find.jsp?24-hour-phar...
      - jrochkind1 3y ago
        Today I learned another reason that despite appearances Baltimore is not a "major metropolitan area". I'm not being sarcastic, it really doesn't have the economy of one. But I also wonder if it's just the very largest cities that have easy 24 hour pharmacy access.
        rascul 3y ago
        > But I also wonder if it's just the very largest cities that have easy 24 hour pharmacy access. I live near a city with population of about 50k. It has a 24 hour Walgreens.
chupchap 3y ago
> alcohol Please tell me it's not the drinking kind?
- mewpmewp2 3y ago
  It is a *drug* store.
- JoyfulTurkey 3y ago
  Where I am (Ohio, USA), drug stores like CVS/Wallgreens sell beer, wine. Hard liquor over a certain alcohol percent is only available at a state liquor agency.
  - Scoundreller 3y ago
    And cigarettes in Nevada
- xboxnolifes 3y ago
  Like they said, it doubles as a convenience store. In the states where convenience stores can sell alcohol (most of them), yes.
- devbent 3y ago
  In Washington state, drug stores dedicate as much or more space to booze, including high proof liquors, as they do to medical goods.
- justinclift 3y ago
  Why not?
  - blackoil 3y ago
    In many parts of world, it would be seen ironic. Like a gym selling junk food.
    - listenallyall 3y ago
kapep 3y ago
I would describe German drug stores in the same way (except that they don't contain a pharmacy and can't sell over the counter drugs). Smaller drug stores in big cities have a few small carts if any but often it's just baskets that you carry. Larger ones usually have carts. I don't think it's odd for them to have carts though, drug stores sell a lot of cleaning stuff which can be heavy and toilet paper which can fill up a cart pretty quick.
- jrochkind1 3y ago
  > I would describe German drug stores in the same way (except that they don't contain a pharmacy and can't sell over the counter drugs) So, in the USA they are called "drug stores" because they sell... drugs. Prescription and over the counter. Are these really called drug stores, or using the German word for drugs, even though they don't sell them... because of their overlap with the non-drug business that the American ones have come to donate more square feet (and prob more revenue) to? Or for other reasons unrelated to USA practice?
  - kapep 3y ago
    They are called "Drogerie" or "Drogeriemarkt" which could be quite translated to drug store. Just like in the other comment about the Netherlands, a pharmacy is called "Apotheke" in Germany and only they are allowed to sell prescription drugs and most over-the-counter drugs. You can't get Aspirin or Ibuprofen in a Drogeriemarkt here. I think traditionally the line was more blurred between pharmacies and drug stores but regulations changed that and our drug stores became some kind of specialized (mainly non-food) supermarkets. I'm actually not sure if the definition of over-the-counter drugs can be applied in the same way in Germany. We have prescription drugs and non-prescription drugs. Non-prescription drugs are still limited to be sold by pharmacies only by default, for example Ibuprofen (but only in small quantities). Some selected categories of less potent drugs or pharmaceutical products can be sold by any store (and even then only if they can prove they employ someone with sufficient expertise).
  - consp 3y ago
    Don't know how they are called in Germany but I guess it's similar as in the Netherlands: These "non drug" stores are called a "drogisterij" (and the English translation will be 'drugstore'), which is from a "chemist's shop" which in the past used to sell all kinds of stuff including medicine. These days the real drugstores are now solely called "apotheken" (pharmacies), I guess to distinguish them from each other. There is some overlap with the two as the pharmacies also sell OTC drugs. edit: The pharmacy where I used to live as a kid was more of a drug store in the US sense with a pharmacy in the back, which also acts as the cashier, and the rest of the store was filled with all kinds of household products like beauty and cleaning.

justsomehnguy 3y ago

Do people in other countries buy paracetamol and aspirin in 10L bottles so they wouldn't need to run their F4999 trucks to a drugstore every week?

freddie_mercury 3y ago
Most countries have laws limiting the size of paracetamol & aspirin bottles to reduce overdoses & suicides. The UK passed a law in 1998 about it and saw suicides from overdoses drop 21% and liver transplants from paracetamol poisoning drop 66%. "Numbers of tablets per pack of paracetamol and salicylates decreased markedly in the year after the change in legislation on 16 September 1998. The annual number of deaths from paracetamol poisoning decreased by 21% (95% confidence interval 5% to 34%) and the number from salicylates decreased by 48% (11% to 70%). Liver transplant rates after paracetamol poisoning decreased by 66% (55% to 74%). The rate of non-fatal self poisoning with paracetamol in any form decreased by 11% (5% to 16%), mainly because of a 15% (8% to 21%) reduction in overdoses of paracetamol in non-compound form."
- dtgriscom 3y ago
  What are the limits? (Asked as a US guy who buys the 500 x 500mg bottles at BJ's.)
  - justinclift 3y ago
    Interesting. How long does one of those bottles last for you? --- In Australia, the regulating body for that stuff announced new limits back in 2023. They'll apply from Feb 2025 onwards: https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-final-decision-reduce-paracetamol-pack-sizes https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-final-d... * reduce the maximum size of packs available for general sale (e.g. supermarkets and convenience stores) from 20 to 16 tablets or capsules * reduce the maximum size of packs available in pharmacies without the supervision of a pharmacist (i.e. ‘Pharmacy Only’ packs) from 100 to 50 tablets or capsules * make other pack sizes of up to 100 tablets or capsules available only under the supervision of a pharmacist (‘Pharmacist Only’ medicines). Those limits don't seem all that different from the existing pack sizes commonly on shelves though. So there's very likely some existing limits around pack sizes already.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

rnewme 3y ago

Yea. Look up DM

rnewme 3y ago
Not sure why I'm being down voted for this but dm is definitely eu drug store with carts :D
- justinclift 3y ago
  "DM" is the store name? Do they have a website? I was thinking you might have been meaning Denmark or something, as it wasn't clear. :) Didn't down vote you though.
  - rnewme 3y ago
    Yes, yes, dm.de Thanks for the comment :)

jackson1way 3y ago

In Germany you have something close to „drug stores in the US“ but minus the pharmacy. For example: dm, Müller, Rossmann. The bigger ones (especially dm) actually always have shopping carts. It‘s very common for people to buy large things in these stores, like toilet paper, baby diapers etc. which can easily fill a shopping cart.

rob74 3y ago
Yup, actually dm is short for "Drogeriemarkt", which could be translated as "drug market". And yes, due to legislation in Germany, they can only sell things like vitamin supplements, "real" drugs (even non-prescription ones) can only be sold in pharmacies.
- dayjaby 3y ago
  My grandfather was a "Drogist" and his job was not to sell drugs, but anything pharmacy/chemistry related: "I got that oily dirt on my jacket" - "Say no more, I mix you the perfect soap for this". That feels quite the same as dm/Rossmann/.. from a customer point of view. The modern word Droge/drug does not mean what it used to mean.
  - tecleandor 3y ago
    Seem like that's common in continental Europe. In Spain in a "droguería" you would find something quite similar to a DM: cleaning supplies, some chemicals, personal hygiene and cosmetic products and the like. A "drogaria" in Portugal probably would a bit more similar like a hardware store, but also in the theme...
    - lloeki 3y ago
      > Seem like that's common in continental Europe. Yeah, it's a very historical thing dating back from times of Marco Polo, the Silk Road, and the likes. In France we have "pharmacie", "droguerie", "épicerie", and "quincaillerie". - "pharmacie" is the regulated medical thing, historically it was "apothicaire" (apothecary) - "quincaillerie" is where you get hardware ("quincaille") like screws, tubes, metal parts, and whatnot, and by extension, tools. By extension "quincaille" coloquially refers to small, cheap stuff in a derogatory way (akin to "lemon" but for small things). - "droguerie" is where you get various general usage, non-medical stuff, from hygiene to ; it is part of "épicerie", where it used to be "all manners of drugs sold under the merchand guild, from dye pigments to perfume, hygiene products and cosmetics, as well as medicine". In the XVIII century the "drugs" term largely meant "things of small value that you can put on the market" and "mixes for which only artists and craftsmen hold the secret". With this definition you can see how it grew from "épicerie" (=> "spicery", a shop for spice) from the economy market of bringing such goods from specific countries like North Africa, Middle East, India, China and whatnot. Pigments, spice, and medicine were obtained from foreign sources and highly sought after. Of course this could involve a deal of mysticism and exotic mystery, a perfect recipe for snake-oil medicine and once medical goods began to be regulated it is left with "alternative" medicinal things. - "épicerie" used to cover all of the above, but today it's your corner-shop that has a bit of everything and is open most of the time to 24/7 (bordering on the illegal, or outright skirting opening hour laws) and saves you in a pinch. These businesses are often held by people of above areas ascendance, not really surprising given the history of it.

Semaphor 3y ago

Germany was mentioned, South Africa is another country that has drug stores, including the Pharmacy, e.g. Clicks.

ta1243 3y ago

I've certainly been to big Boots stores in the UK with small trolleys - the ones that are like a basket on wheels at waist height

wisty 3y ago

Australian ones have a retail section with band-aids, non-prescription medicine, vitamins, nappies, sunscreen, skincare, hair care and "natural medicines" most of which are borderline frauds. Maybe no trollies though.

koliber 3y ago

For people from Europe not familiar with the big drug stores the parent is referring to: these drug stores are more like a Rossman with a pharmacy counter in the back.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
dsego 3y ago
Not familiar with Rossman but with german DM (drogerie markt) & Muller being well represented in my country (and I presumed other ones in Europe) for over a decade or more, I thought this concept had already been established in all of Europe.
- AdamN 3y ago
  In the US, a drug store is a DM with a pharmacy in the back. There are way fewer independent pharmacies in the US nowadays as 'drug stores' have taken over.
  - dsego 3y ago
    Things are getting more interfused all the time, like there is this store 'farmacia' where I live, looks like a pharmacy, sells pills, but you can't pick up prescriptions because it's not a real pharmacy. Then the national postal offices sell gadgets and trinkets, likely because sending actual mail is in decline, and package delivery is better served by private delivery services. Gas stations have even started selling bread because of a new law that prevents grocery stores and malls from working on most Sundays.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      Around here gas stations sell bread and other basic grocery things because it gets people into the store. Our local gas station stores are bigger than the first supermarkets, probably. Multiple aisles and fresh produce, etc.
    - 3y ago