Self and treatment: supplies of dietary supplements to pharmacies increased almost 1.5 times

The volume of dietary supplements supplied to Russian pharmacies has increased 1.4 times since 2020, Izvestia found out. Both analysts, pharmacy chains and logistics companies report rapid growth. The increase in sales could also be a consequence of the popularization of a healthy lifestyle, experts believe. At the same time, there is a steady practice of purchasing such dietary supplements without consulting doctors. Moreover, some patients even replace medicines with dietary supplements in the hope of their "naturalness". Independent uncontrolled use of biologically active additives can lead to serious consequences for the body, experts warn.

Chains increase sales of dietary supplements

Logistics companies record a rapid increase in the supply of dietary supplements and dietary supplements to pharmacy chains. The number of their orders increased eight and five times, respectively. In particular, such data was provided by the Business Lines Group of companies.

Pharmacies have really begun to actively increase purchases of biologically active additives, Izvestia found out. For example, the Rigla network (part of the Protek Implementation Center) said that in 2020, the supply of dietary supplements accounted for 8% of total purchases, and in 2024 it was already 24%.

In 2020-2022, vitamins C and D were mainly purchased, which are popular in the treatment of the effects of coronavirus infection, and since 2024, the demand for collagen and chondroitin (a substance for maintaining cartilage tissue) has been growing.

The increase in the volume of dietary supplements purchases was also confirmed in the pharmacy chain "36.6".

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"We have increased the supply of dietary supplements from local and foreign manufacturers," said Anastasia Chernousova, Director of the company's own brand development. — This is due to increased customer demand, and the increase in demand is due to the desire of the population to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Rigla also noted that the increase in dietary supplements was stimulated by increased demand.

Since 2022, the share of requests for the supply of dietary supplements and dietary supplements has gradually increased and now stands at 25%, a representative of one of the companies that supplies them to pharmacy chains told Izvestia.

— And three years ago it accounted for 5%, — the interlocutor added. — This trend is beneficial for pharmacies, as dietary supplements provide high margins. By selling dietary supplements, pharmacies are now compensating for what they lost when selling medicines from the list of vital and essential drugs, since their price is limited.

According to the DSM Group analytical company, sales of dietary supplements have increased 1.4 times in four years, from 321.8 million packages to 452.6 million.

Why has the demand for dietary supplements increased?

The growing demand for dietary supplements among the population may be due to the fact that after the COVID-19 pandemic, people began to actively monitor their health, a source in the pharmaceutical market told Izvestia. But there is also a dangerous trend — people have become more likely to take dietary supplements instead of medications prescribed by a doctor, the doctors added.

— Recently, the opinion has been strengthened that dietary supplements due to plant origin are better than medicines based on chemical formulas, — said therapist Svetlana Kanevskaya. — Therefore, people often refuse medications prescribed by a specialist and replace them with dietary supplements.

On online platforms, in reviews of dietary supplements, some buyers write that they prefer dietary supplements, since "medicines are poison."

"I buy dietary supplements as a natural substitute for pharmacy poisons," wrote one of the customers.

Patients consider dietary supplements to be more useful than the drugs prescribed to them, Ekaterina Terentyeva, head of the Invitro Medical Examination department, confirmed.

"But dietary supplements are not medications," she reminded me. — They do not undergo clinical trials and do not have strictly regulated production standards, and their quality control is limited to food safety assessment.

The expert stressed that consultation with a doctor is a prerequisite before taking dietary supplements.

— The doctor prescribes an examination, identifies deficiencies and only after that prescribes dietary supplements, its dose and duration of administration, — Svetlana Kanevskaya emphasized. — The specialist also determines the dietary supplement based on its compatibility with the medications that a person takes. Not all dietary supplements and medications are combined with each other.

What is the danger of taking dietary supplements on your own?

Uncontrolled intake of dietary supplements can lead to overdose and side effects that are dangerous to life and health, the therapist noted. For example, an overdose of vitamin D increases the risk of hypercalcemia and can lead to the formation of kidney stones, vitamin E increases the risk of prostate cancer in men, and vitamin A increases lung cancer in smokers.

In reviews of various dietary supplements, people most often complain of nausea, vomiting, weakness, loss of appetite, headache, and gastrointestinal upset. For example, in reviews of vitamins for men (a complex of dietary supplements), one of the buyers wrote that after taking them, he developed swelling, followed by bloating and diarrhea.

When taking dietary supplements for edema, users also complained of similar side effects.

"I may have an individual reaction, but I started vomiting immediately after taking it," one customer wrote.

Another, who also took this dietary supplement for edema, noted that after taking it, her stomach and intestines ached.

Unsafe products among dietary supplements are detected weekly, the Anti-Counterfeit association told Izvestia. They noted that the most acute problem is with the implementation of pseudo-dietary supplements on the Internet and through network marketing.

"By pseudo—dietary supplements, we mean the sale of unregistered dietary supplements containing prohibited biologically active substances, from medicines that match or exceed the therapeutic dose to potent substances," the association clarified. — They also include products that have claimed properties related to dietary supplements, but in fact are pacifiers.

Pseudo-dietary supplements are sold under the guise of, for example, food additives and concentrates, sports supplements to circumvent the mandatory requirements for state registration and mandatory labeling in the Honest Sign system.

"Another common type of detected violations is the overestimation of dosages of active substances in dietary supplements that exceed the therapeutic dose of the drug," the association added.— In fact, these are already unregistered drugs. Using them instead of the expected benefits will cause significant harm.

They also reported cases of the sale of dietary supplements and pseudo-dietary supplements based on prohibited active substances. Such violations are most often found in the categories of products for weight loss and improving potency, the association added.