HEADACHES, UPSET STOMACHS AND FEVERS—THESE ARE some of the minor conditions that many people treat with over-the-counter medication. Not severe enough to require a doctor’s office visit, these discomforts can often be handled by talking to a pharmacist and getting a recommendation for a product that doesn’t even need a prescription. It’s a commonplace occurrence: Research reported by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association shows that 81 percent of adults use OTC medications as their initial response to small ailments. Americans average 26 trips per year to buy OTC products, but they visit the doctor only three times in the same time span. With so many occasions to select an OTC product, there is ample opportunity to make the wrong choice. To help consumers make the most informed decisions about which OTC medications they should use, Newsweek and leading market research firm BrandSpark International have partnered for the third annual list of the Most Trusted by Pharmacists Awards honoring OTC brands in America. This recognition will make it easier for customers to make confident purchases, as the products listed here come with a pharmacist-voted endorsement. This year’s winners were determined based on a survey of more than 400 pharmacists in the U.S. who were asked their opinion on which brands they most trust across 36 categories. Overall, 80 products were selected as award winners. The items recognized here are the ones most likely to make future trips to the pharmacy more effective.
METHODOLOGY
In the third annual BrandSpark American Pharmacists Trust Study, BrandSpark researchers identified OTC/Health categories where trust is
