By Anna Murphy, Consultant Pharmacist for Respiratory Conditions

Approximately 5.2 million in the UK suffer from asthma, and many of these treat their asthma with medicine delivered through an inhaler. Inhalers are disposable devices, and most inhaler users use many throughout the year. You can imagine how many inhalers are thrown away in a year.

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By Paul Johnson, community pharmacist

Insomnia is a very common problem, with 1 in 3 of us having a problem with sleeping at some point in our lives. It can be extremely distressing and can cause fatigue and anxiety.

Because you’re sleeping badly it makes sense to think you have insomnia. Recent research from the RPS states that 51% of people who have diagnosed themselves with insomnia have bought sleeping remedies without getting any advice from a health professional, such as a pharmacist. This is a problem because the vast majority of insomnia relates to an underlying health issue such as anxiety, depression, asthma or heart disease.  If you don’t get good advice, this problem will remain untreated. Read more »

By John Betts, Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum Officer

Given the scientific knowledge we now have about the harmful effects of smoking on health it seems unbelievable that in the past medical professionals viewed smoking as an effective and legitimate medicinal treatment. One of my father’s aunts, who regularly suffered from coughs and sore throats, was told by her doctor in the 1930s to take up smoking to toughen up her throat!

The fascinating, and at times contradictory, relationship between pharmacy and smoking inspired me to curate new Developing Treatments exhibition ‘Going Up in Smoke’ – Smoking and Pharmacy. Read more »