My pharmacy is now also a flavor bar?

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Friday, May 08, 2009

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BY DAN ROSS

Talking Points

November 5th, 2009

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August 20th, 2009

Should marijuana be legalized?

I freely admit to getting a shot of caramel in my morning latte, but I apparently can now order up my flavor of choice when filling a prescription too.

That's just wrong.

I was looking through the Target flyer from the print edition of the Sunday Napa Valley Register, when I came across the FREE Liquid Flavorings ad for the store's pharmacy.

Yep, liquid flavorings like "cherry, watermelon or even chocolate-banana pie," can be added to make the prescription drug-laced cough syrup go down like a trip to the local ice cream shop.

Better yet, I don't need to wait for a prescription, as Target says its pharmacy, "can even add flavor to your over-the-counter medicines, too."

Hoo boy, I can just see me now, running into the local Target late one night, grabbing what I need and tossing it to the pharmacist while shouting out, "Gimme a pomegranate NyQuil, Doc, and while you're at it, add a banana cream pie amoxicillin for my 6-year-old!"

Really now, who ARE the people who come up with these things?

Yeah, I know there's bubble gum flavored children's Tylenol cough syrup and the like to make it easier for parents to get children to take that nightly dose, but this is going way too far.

I do not want little kids running around asking to go to the pharmacy for dessert. Let's hit up Coldstone Creamery or Peet's Coffee to get some good flavors for us when we're being bad.

Dan Ross is NapaValleyRegister.com's online editor. He writes on local, state and national issues when he’s not trying out new cough syrup flavors. He can be reached at dross@napanews.com or 256-2264

12 comment(s)

steph wrote on May 8, 2009 2:18 PM:

" Hoo, there are a LOT of liquid antibiotics that taste NASTY and it's a real feat to get these into your toddler--and keep them in.
If the option of flavoring brings more people to Target pharmacy, then let them try it--it could be a good business decision!
It probably won't make the medication taste really great, anyway. But it may make enough of a difference in getting a child to take a needed medication.
And it should be presented to the child this way, anyway. "This isn't going to taste great. Wanna try adding a flavor to make it taste less awful?" Not, "This will make your medication taste really DELICIOUS!"
Keep a root-beer chaser handy, anyway. Helps with the gagging after the antibiotic.

ULGH. "

steph wrote on May 8, 2009 2:19 PM:

" If you want to keep kids from drugs, keep them locked up in your home. There's an epidemic of "big kids" getting hooked on family members' or friends' family members' prescription drugs.
That's not good. "

a teacher wrote on May 8, 2009 2:45 PM:

" You know what mary Poppins says:

Just a spoonfull of sugar helps the medicine go down... "

Ruff Limblog wrote on May 8, 2009 7:17 PM:

" ... the medicine go down.

In a most delightful way...

~Ruff "

JustAnotherManicMonday wrote on May 11, 2009 8:03 AM:

" Cherry flavored cough syrup goes down much better. Nyquil is nasty tasting and gives me nightmares.

Dan, think of this like a teeth cleaning at the dentist: wouldn't you rather get a choice of bubble gum or cherry? Or if you break your arm, you can get pink or blue wrapping on your cast? "

JMB wrote on May 11, 2009 2:58 PM:

" I agree with Mr. Ross that this is overkill. You only need a few flavors to get kids to take their medicine. Grape, cherry (ick!), orange, and bubblegum. Or just do it my mother's way back in the day. "Either drink this or the doctor will have to give you pills. Do you want to swallow a hard pill? I didn't think so, drink it." And you abided by your mother! But she always let me have a little treat afterwards to clear the taste. Problem solved! "

alucawanza wrote on May 11, 2009 3:46 PM:

" How the times have changed. My mother crushed a Bayer aspirin in a teaspoon, added water to the spoon, and down it went. Ugg
Grandma swabbed our throats with lemon juice with her forefinger wrapped in a cotton cloth. Gag...
We had home visits from the doctor too. It always meant a shot in the hip with penicillin.
How lucky to be growing up now! "

Ruff Limblog wrote on May 13, 2009 8:10 AM:

" The 'Rant' is missing today as I write this, so this is targeted for that empty slot.

----------

The ACLU is fighting for freedom again!

The freedom to practice medicine is being restricted by 'gene patents' which the ACLU, Yeshiva University's law school, and the Public Patent Foundation.

The basic tenet is that no monopoly patents should be given on our human genetic make-up.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/12/us.genes.lawsuit/index.html

A Win by the ACLU here would likely overturn the concept of gene patents very quickly.

I love it when lawyers are working to expand freedom!

The ACLU is such an interesting organization! Here's two more examples.

The ACLU sued so that Rush Limbaugh could prevent government investigators from going through Rush's medical files when the government was investigating Rush's OxyContin purchasing habits, even though Rush Limbaugh rabidly attacked and continues to rabidly attack the ACLU on his radio show.

And, the ACLU wrote a letter supporting yet another ACLU-despising radio talker who wants to get a vanity car license plate with the letters "A C L U S U X" on it.

Freedom's just another word !!!

~Ruff "

Ruff Limblog wrote on May 13, 2009 9:28 AM:

" This is for today's DRT.

----------

Recently the Napa City Council signed up to be a part of the Bay Area implementation of 'standardized EV battery' technology as demonstrated by 'Better Place' corporation.

What does that mean?

Well instead of driving to your local gas station and dropping a bundle every few days on smelly 'self-serve' gasoline, you will do this:

http://www.betterplace.com/company/video-detail/better-place-battery-switch-technology-demonstration

The video is about two minutes long. Most 'around-town' and 'soccer mom' drivers will be content to charge their car at home, in their apartment parking lot, a parking garage, the market, or hardware store.

But if you needed to go farther than a 100 mile trip, you can exchange your battery for no-charge. And if you had to do it more than 50 times per year - you get a discount!

This is as revolutionary as the introduction of the gasoline-powered automobile.

~Ruff "

Ruff Limblog wrote on May 13, 2009 9:31 AM:

" How about Ghentian Violet for 'trench mouth'? Arrgh!

And polio shots! Whaaah! (My dad had to drag me the last hundred feet!)

Then came polio vaccine on a sugar cube!

"A spoonful of sugar..."

~Ruff "

napa1957 wrote on May 13, 2009 11:27 PM:

" Target has a pharmacy? "

Angelina Gervasio wrote on May 14, 2009 6:02 PM:

" Normally I choose the swallow-able pills with Gatorade/OJ/water when I need them. Most of the flavored medicines are just plain nasty.

I've never really had a problem with pills... my sister on the other hand is a different story. I remember my mom practically sitting on her to get her to take strep (sp?) throat medicine, even though that didn't taste that bad... "

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