As Fintan Moore touched on in his column of this issue, soccer star Ronaldo made a spontaneous and unexpected gesture at a press conference during…
Vaccination Nation
Fintan Moore ponders the ‘Expression of interest’ form and the myriad of potential responses to its questions After being a bit slow to get going,…
Five ‘Herbs’ for Weak Urinary Flow
Dr Des Corrigan compares ‘natural’ vs ‘herbal’ when it comes to commonly-advertised products Another month, another pop-up ad, this time for a product claiming to…
50 Years of Drug Prohibition in the UK
Terry Maguire reviews the contents of the UK’s Misuse of Drugs act on the 50th anniversary of its introduction As a service, we had failed…
Keeping good company
Looking after your business and the performance of your staff can bring breakthroughs in skill development and self-awareness, writes Ultan Molloy Having seen the way…
Plan for the worst?
What could a canoe trip down the zambezi river and the high tech hub possibly have in common? Fintan Moore explains Years ago when I…
The FDA tackles misbranding of CBD products
Dr Des Corrigan finds that when it comes to the labelling of some CBD products, the devil is in the detail According to a recent…
The understanding of risk
Terry Maguire shares his experiences of administering the Covid vaccine in his pharmacies Wednesday and Saturday for the past eight weeks have been vaccination days…
‘Good money makes good art’
There’s no such thing as ‘free’ advice at the pharmacy counter but it certainly has value, writes Ultan Molloy July, eh! And what does your…
A generation lost
Covid has, as we all know, been ‘the only game in town’ over the past bizarre and challenging year. But as we also know, the…
The health literacy factor in pharmacies
Some readers have had to reorganise their pharmacies dramatically since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, with the reduced footfall hitting many pharmacies hard. Many of you…
A Pointed argument
While pharmacists should be vaccinating for Covid-19, the strain on resources shouldn’t be underestimated, writes Fintan Moore Like many of you, I recently downloaded the…
Herbs for sleep – what is the evidence?
Dr Des Corrigan reviews the evidence for herbal therapies to treat stress and insomnia The Irish Times Health Section published a provocative and at times…
‘Action Needed Immediately’
A code-word scheme to help victims of domestic violence in the pharmacy has its positives and negatives, writes Terry Maguire Domestic violence, in all its…
Joining forces
Ultan Molloy considers the ongoing moves towards consolidation in the Irish pharmacy market The big news this morning, at the time of writing, is that…
The rocky road to OTC ED medication
It’s a welcome development that medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) is now approved for OTC sale in Ireland. It is another recognition…
State of the Union
Because of human nature, being at the head of the IPU is something akin to coaching the Irish rugby team, writes Fintan Moore It often…
Is the Lethal Fat-Burner DNP Another Case of Paracelsus Being Right?
Dr Des Corrigan weighs the evidence against DNP with the musings of the historical ‘father of toxicology’ Media reports at the beginning of February referred…
Ireland shot itself in the foot, not in the arm
When politics interferes with the vaccine surveillance process, we move to emotion informing beliefs and decisions, writes Terry Maguire In the 1960s, US President Johnson…
Reasons to be cheerful — or fearful
Ultan Molloy tries his best to be positive about the end of lockdowns and the pharmacy sector I feel like my brain has been in…
We need to neutralise any would be anti-vaxxer-in-chief
VACCINE HESITANCY WILL INCREASE AS WE EXTEND BEYOND THE HIGH-RISK GROUPS, WRITES TERRY MAGUIRE Medical scientists are more positive than they have been for months.…
‘Herbal’ treatments for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
DR DES CORRIGAN LOOKS AT THE CLAIMS MADE FOR TREATING NAFLD WITH HERBAL REMEDIES I have written previously about a ‘popup’ ad for a herbal…
Another five weeks
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CREAKING UNDER THE STRAIN OF THE LATEST LOCKDOWN EXTENSION, WRITES ULTAN MOLLOY As I write this, I’m told that we…
Pack Animals
FINTAN MOORE TAKES AN IMAGINARY TRIP INTO THE BOARDROOM WHERE PACKAGING DESIGNS ARE APPROVED I would like you to picture the following scene — it’s…
No profession has a monopoly on patient care — especially now
At time of writing — I’m honestly sick of using that phrase — we’re heading into (at least) another five weeks of lockdown. I have…
Are we there yet? There’s Never a dull moment with Covid-19
So that was January. A bit of a roller-coaster ride in terms of Covid statistics — a rapid rise after Christmas, followed by what appears…
The Know-nothing Know-it-alls
It may be a hopeless task to try to convince anti-vaxxers of the error of their ways, writes Fintan Moore We have learned a lot…
The Environmental Costs of drug use and addiction
Dr Des Corrigan highlights the damage done to our environment by the human quest for chemical intoxication Most of us have some awareness of the…
Is Covid-19 orthodoxy abusing science and killing free speech?
There is a worrying trend towards ignoring facts and free speech in favour of self-righteousness over Covid-19, writes Terry Maguire Listening to a local morning…
Covid comes home for Christmas
Ultan Molloy counts the cost of having a christmas guest who was a close contact with a covid-positive person What a January it has been…