To learn more about Costco Pharmacy, click on the “Pharmacy”
link at Costco.com or call toll-free 1-800-607-6861.
TIPS FROM THE PHARMACY
BUYER’S PICK
UPDATE
PharmacyCOSTCO
THIS TIME OF year,
tobacco users are often
reminded that it’s time
to make quitting a
New Year’s resolution,
but one of the main
reasons they often fail
to quit is because they
use the “cold turkey”
method. According
to the Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention, when used as directed, nicotine
lozenges or gum can double your chance to
successfully quit. Many people require several quit attempts to stop smoking.
Costco offers several over-the-counter
nicotine replacement therapies, including gum, patches and lozenges, to help
you quit. Kirkland Signature Quit™ Mint
Lozenges contain the active ingredient
Nicotine Polacrilex, which is comparable to
the active ingredient found in other name-brand lozenges. These products help you
reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms
by providing nicotine, but without the other
dangerous chemicals that are in cigarettes or
chewing tobacco.
Most tobacco users want to quit—but
quitting isn’t simple. Understanding why
you smoke and knowing your own routines
and triggers can help you create a plan for
how you will deal with them. The more you
know about the quitting process and the
options you have for additional support,
the better your chances for success. Feel
free to speak to your Costco pharmacist if
you have any questions on medications to
help you quit smoking, and visit smokefree
habits.com/Costco for a personalized support program.
Kirkland Signature Quit Mint Lozenges
2 mg (Item #906476) or 4 mg (Item #906492)
packs each contain 270 pieces, and are available for $59.99 in warehouses and online at
Costco.com. C
Saving on
prescriptions
VIC CURTIS, COSTCO’S senior vice president,
Pharmacy, offers these tips for saving at the
pharmacy counter.
Buy generic. A 2015 report from Generic
Pharmaceutical Association-Institute for
Healthcare Informatics (GPhA–IMS; gpha
online.org) quantified the total generic savings realized by consumers at $1.68 trillion
over 10 years. Most pharmacists recommend
buying generics when you can and where it
makes sense. In some cases your pharmacist
might caution against the use of a generic
product, but these instances are limited.
Shop price. If low price is an important
criterion in your selection of a pharmacy, then
shop around. Be sure to compare pharmacies
for the lowest overall price for your entire
shopping list of prescriptions. It is best to use
a single pharmacy because that allows your
pharmacist to do a complete review of your
drug therapy and lets the pharmacist make
recommendations that optimize your care.
Buy larger quantities. Are you paying
completely out of pocket? Ask your doctor for
a 90-day supply of the prescriptions you buy
on a regular basis. This is particularly true for
generic prescriptions but does not apply to
large quantities of strong pain medications.
Compare your insurance co-pay with
the pharmacy’s everyday retail price. On inex-
pensive generics, sometimes the co-pay for
three months of medication billed to your pre-
scription insurance can cost more than
Costco’s everyday price. Taking this opportu-
nity to save can be helpful—but not a good
option if you are a senior citizen and have
Medicare Part D coverage. Under this pro-
gram the government pays more of the medi-
cation’s cost as your annual Medicare drug
spend increases. C
Jeff Taylor
Assistant Buyer,
Pharmacy
© MEDIA BAKERY
Kirkland
Signature Quit
Mint Lozenges
IF YOUR NEW YEAR’S resolution is to
add essential nutrients to your diet, you
may want to explore the extensive line of
Kirkland Signature™ vitamins and nutritional
supplements at Costco.
Kirkland Signature products are carefully
manufactured, with rigorous quality controls
to ensure the purity of the ingredients and
the potency of the final product, and are
guaranteed to meet or exceed the quality of
national brands.
Costco members receive exceptional,
unbeatable value with Kirkland Signature
vitamins and nutritional supplements. In
fact, the Verified Mark of the United States
Pharmacopeia (USP; usp.org), an indepen-
dent organization that sets strict quality and
purity standards, can be found on many
Kirkland Signature vitamins and nutritional
supplements, which ensures they meet the
highest specifications in product integrity.
Kirkland Signature vitamins and nutri-
tional supplements are available in the ware-
house and at Costco.com. C
VITAMINS AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
New Year’s nutrients
