Chain drug stores have increased their health care role through expanded pharmacy services and retail health clinics. They also are major food retailers. This creates a tension between health promotion and sales of unhealthy foods and beverages to pharmacy customers. This article explores opportunities to improve the nutritional quality of foods sold at chain drug stores that differ from general healthy food retail approaches. It considers the legal limits on marketing to pharmacy customers; the potential roles of health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and retail health clinics to voluntarily improve food offerings; and formal policymaking legal considerations and approaches.
Published: April 2019
ID #: CAS026
Journal: Health Marketing Quarterly
Authors: Wilking C, Gottlieb MA, Rickles N
Focus Area: Food Retail
Keywords: Health Care, In-store marketing, Self-regulation
Resource Type: Journal Article
Related Research
July 2015
Understanding Current Trends, Policy Opportunities, and Legal Limits of Using Pharmacies to Promote Healthy Food Retail
This project will use legal and policy analysis to understand how the presence of pharmacies in food retail settings could be used to improve the availability and marketing of healthy foods and beverages in these outlets. Analysis will focus on current trends, legal limits, and policy opportunities to support healthy retail, and will be used MoreApril 2026
Policy Priorities and Research Needs for Advancing Healthy Eating: A 2026-2027 Research Agenda for U.S. Children and Adolescents
Given recent changes to nutrition policies and programs and the food environment landscape, the need for new evidence on how these changes impact nutrition, health, and food access is greater than ever. HER has also published a research agenda intended to provide a blueprint for immediate (i.e., 12-18 month) research needs to inform strategies to MoreNovember 2025