The drugs don't sell: DIY heart health and the over-the-counter statin experience

This paper draws on a study of over-the-counter statins to provide a critical account of the figure of the ‘pharmaceutical consumer’ as a key actor in the pharmaceuticalisation literature. A low dose statin, promising to reduce cardiovascular risk, was reclassified to allow sale in pharmacies in the UK in 2004. We analysed professional and policy debates about the new product, promotional and sales information, and interviews with consumers and potential consumers conducted between 2008 and 2011, to consider the different consumer identities invoked by these diverse actors.