Healthy Skepticism Library item: 12537

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Stop smoking cons fee
Pharmacy Daily 2008 Jan 23
www.pharmacydaily.com

Full text:

NICORETTE is offering a $10 “consultation fee” to pharmacists for their professional
consultations with customers regarding the new ACTIVESTOP support program.

“What we’re aiming to do with the consultation fee is leverage the skills of pharmacists by asking
them to identify and consult with customers who are appropriate for the ACTIVESTOP support
program,” said Johnson & Johnson Pacific marketing mgr Glenn Cochran.

“As healthcare professionals, they obviously have the skill set to be able to do this,” he added.
The program, which launched this month with extensive TV advertising, has a focus on
personalised behavioural support.

It uses online tools including a website and email, plus mobile phone SMS and interactive voice
response systems to help quitters in the days and weeks after they give up smoking.

“Because Nicorette products are exclusive to pharmacy, we’re helping pharmacists grow the NRT
category, by building a series of offers to suit the varied needs of quitters regardless of what stage of the quitting cycle they are in,” Cochran said.

“In addition to complementing the smoking cessation counsellilng provided by pharmacists,
customers who use the Activestop support program are more likely to stick with Nicorette products
and quit, therefore sticking with pharmacy,” he claimed.

He said pharmacy assistants were also being targeted by the campaign, with effective tools to
enable them to better engage with customers about quitting.