NEWS by David King Retailers get an evening of Coronation Street

by David King
NEWS
Retailers get an evening of Coronation
Street and Dennis the Chemist on CoQ10
OCTOBER'S TORRENTIAL rain didn't deter
the 200 health food store and pharmacy
retailers from attending Pharma Nord's
'Coronation
Street
Experience'
in
Manchester.
The Granada Studios Tour venue was
the second leg of a lecture tour, which
included Newcastle Upon Tyne, Glasgow
and Belfast.
Announced as "A symposium with a
difference!" the evening opened with a
vegetarian buffet, held in the middle of
'Baker Street' deer-stalkers
were
optional.
Thirsts and appetites satisfied, the
audience was welcomed by actor John
Elliot,
ITV's
Savident,.alias
Fred
Coronation.Street butcher.
John proved far from being an inappropriate choice. As patron of the
European Mitochondrial Disease Network
(EMDN) he explained how little there is
known of the condition, which can affect
young and old alike.
The disease attacks the very heart of
cellular life, mitochondria. As yet there
are few treatments. However there does
seem to be hope in a therapy which
involves the administration of very high
dosages of Co-Enzyme 010 (approx 4mg
per kg of body weight).
Paul Preston, Director and Chairman of
EMDN (UK), eagerly collected contribu-
Pictured left to right: Dennis Gore pharmacist, John Savident, alias Fred
Elliot, Paul Preston, EMDN chairman and
Bent Henriksen, md of Pharma Nord.
tions for the Bacup based charity, which
maintains an internet site offering free
exchange of advice and information
between parents, sufferers and medical
professionals. A figure of £250 was
raised on the night which was later
matched by Pharma Nord (UK) raising the
night's total to £500.
Manchester lived up to the title of
'Rainy City' as the delegates were ushered from Baker Street to the set of
Coronation Street. After a brief tour, the
now soggy crowd were welcomed back
to commence the second half of the
night, "How to Stay in Business in 1999".
Bent Henriksen, Pharma Nord's MD,
outlined the company's products and its
scheme to supply free (subject to conditions) shop signs to stockists. This laid the
ground for the guest speaker, local community pharmacist, raconteur and general media celebrity Dennis 'the Chemist'
Gore, who extolled the virtues of Pharma
Nord's range of products.
Dennis attacked the subject of antioxidants with the speed of a free radical
and the virtues of Co-010 with endless
energy. Pharma Nord's latest product,
Lipoic Acid, equally received Dennis's
enthusiastic endorsement as a strong
antioxidant.
On the point of sales he stated
"Information
is only information if it's
passed on." Referring to a pile of reference material, he emphasised that customers need to have products explained
to them to make any sort of informed
choice.
It was interesting to note that there
was a distinct minority of health food
retailers, a sign perhaps that pharmacists
are far from being shy when it comes to
gaining information on vitamins and supplements.
Neil Harnett from Pharma Nord, commented later that "people seemed to
enjoy the night and we've received some
very positive reports".
Natural products rise to Viagra challenge
HEADLINES IN a national newspaper
spread hope of a possible natural substitute for Viagra.
70 year old Don Brown, who runs a sweet
shop in Cornwall, read an article in The Daily
Mail detailing the 'potent' properties
of
Sarsaparilla. The Mail article outlined that the
aromatic root can, allegedly, raise testosterone
levels and might therefore be described as an
aphrodisiac.
The quick thinking retailer contacted his
local paper and announced that his customers
agreed with the theory. Their chosen stimulant? Stockley's Sarsaparilla sticks. The Sun
quickly grabbed the headline and the story
went national!
An exhausted Phil Lawson, spokesman for
Stockleys Sweets, confirmed that there had
been enormous interest from the media.
"Obviously we can't attribute any potency to
our product, but the story has certainly
increased interest in it." He added, "We've had
calls from countless papers, local radio stations and two TV companies."
Stockleys, based in Oswaldtwistle, has been
in business since 1918 and has produced
Sarsaparilla drops since the war.
"In Lancashire, it's a tried and tested sweet,"
said Phil, without expanding fully on the test
criteria.
page 16
December 1998
Amused telesales staff at Nature's Store
Rougier, a French neurobiologist who acts as
admitted that the sticks were out of stock. In
a nutritional adviser to the England and
Manchester, confectionery wholesalers were
Arsenal football teams.
also bereft of supplies.
"Rather in the way that Viagra was develIn actual fact the sticks do contain a potent
oped as a cardiac product and was found accisubstance, safrole oil. The oil, a natural ingredentally to enhance libido, Tigra was develdient, is extracted from sassafras and its use is
oped as a general fitness formula but found to
controlled.
boost sexual performance as a side effect,"
Listed
as a 'Category
1 Precursor
said UK distributor, Narinder Kohli, of M&N
Chemical', the oil was confirmed by the Home
Traders.
Office as being a controlled substance, due to
The argument runs that many of those trying
its potential for abuse.
to get Viagra over the counter might in fact
(In fact the Home Office person admitted
have difficulties stemming from fatigue and
that she didn't know anything about the chemstress, which is something the health trade is
ical, as she was hopeless at chemistry! Ha!
well placed to tackle.
Ha!)
Tigra offers a sexual recharge through a
Phil Lawson reassured readers that its use as
combination of classic circulatory and aphroa flavouring ingredient is minimal. However,
disiac ingredients: ginseng, damiana, lecithin,
he maintained, "Stockleys do use natural
Vitamins E, Bl, zinc, dioscorea, grapeskin
ingredients in their range of sweets, which are
extract, peppermint and essential oils.
firm favourites with sweet and
------------,
The pack recomhealth food shops alike."
mends "For a better
One wonders whether the govsexual impact and a
ernment
will
now
remove
very specific and tarSarsaparilla
Sticks from free
geted action on your
sale.
libido, take three pills
• SARSAPARILLA
is not the
three hours before
only 'Viagra
alternative'.
A
sexual relations." One
more serious herbal product
MEN SEX PERFORMER
can't help feeling that
called Tigra was launched in the
it's an up and coming
product.
summer, formulated by Dr Yann
Health Food Business