Cold weather clothes and the pharmacy

On the BBC website this morning, 14th December 2011, there is an article from Manuela Sargosa which is purportedly considering the differences between approaches to dressing for cold weather between our two countries. Her perception is that the Italians prepare themselves more effectively for the cold weather than we Brits do. However, the paragraphs that caught my eye related to the differences in pharmacies between the two countries. "But nowhere is the contrast between British and Italian attitudes to health more evident than in each country's respective pharmacies. In Britain, these are supermarket-style shops for personal and healthcare products. Cough medicine is stacked alongside hair dye. Vitamin supplements are two aisles up from make-up. In Italy, pharmacies are old-style apothecaries. A little bell tinkles as you walk through the door. It smells of antiseptic. Products are stacked neatly on wooden shelves, sometimes behind glass. The pharmacist is someone consulted in hushed tones. Manuela Saragosa Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16141184" At this time of year as we rush out to buy Christmas cards depicting typical Victorian scenes of snowy gaslit winter streets, I was fascinated at this apparent hankering for the old way of doing things. Anyone who was captivated by 'The Victorian Pharmacy' will surely recognise that things have thankfully moved on a little over the last 100 years. Personally I like being able to select a wide range of effective products from my local community pharmacy. I appreciate that all of the staff working in the practice have been trained to a high standard and am reassured that my local pharmacist keeps herself up to date by regular engagement with CPPE learning materials. I am pleased that I can talk with my pharmacist without feeling reverential and that there is a consulting room on hand if I were to want to talk about something with a little more privacy. The comments lower down the BBC page show that other people can recognise the difference between our two countries as well. One respondent has commented that he went to buy some ibuprofen whilst on holiday in Italy. It cost him close to £7, compared with the 40p he pays back home. It seems like we'll have to keep working a bit harder to show that there is more to value in a pharmacy than the price tag.