Pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning sugar-free medicines

To examine the attitudes of pharmacists to sugar in medicine and sugar-free preparations and their levels of knowledge concerning sugar-free preparations and the implications for dental health.

A questionnaire was designed with a mixture of closed and open-ended questions.

Pharmacists practising in the Greater Belfast area of Northern Ireland.

Seventy pharmacists were randomly chosen from the list of pharmacists practising in the area and were asked to participate in the study.

Responses were obtained from 52 of the 70 selected pharmacists, representing a response rate of 74%. Seventy-five per cent of the pharmacists stated that they had not received formal education concerning sugar in medication and it's effect on dental health. Their main source of information on the subject was dental health literature. Eighty-seven per cent felt that all medication should be available in sugar-free form. Forty-six per cent stated that sugar in medication was definitely an important cause of dental caries in children and 44% felt that it was a possible factor. The major factors influencing the provision of sugar-free medicines were parental request, health promotion literature, reports and media advertising. Thirty-nine per cent of the pharmacists always offered a sugar-free preparation for over-the-counter medication (provided that a sugar-free alternative was available), and 56% sometimes did so. Fifty per cent always offered a sugar-free form for prescribed items wherever possible, the remainder depended on it being specified by the prescriber.

There is a high level of interest in this issue among pharmacists, but there is a need for an increased educational input on a continuous basis.