On the Irish Pharmacy Podcast from Vital Pharmacies, Sheena interviews scientist and author David Robert Grimes about how misinformation thrives in a social-media clickbait era by triggering fear and disgust, undermining rational thinking through negativity bias. He distinguishes misinformation (unintentional falsehoods), disinformation (deliberate lies), and malinformation (true facts stripped of context), illustrating malinformation with the “dihydrogen monoxide” water hoax and vaccine risk framing. Grimes argues community pharmacists are vital because trusted, relationship-based discussions work better than debates for helping worried patients. They discuss influencer-driven wellness marketing, conflicts of interest, black-market GLP-1s, and his critiques of red-light face masks and oral collagen studies as methodologically poor and often tied to sellers. He also outlines Russia’s history of exploiting disinformation and highlights Finland’s media literacy education as a model, urging people to pause, verify sources, and avoid outsourcing thinking to social media or AI.

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:16 Meet David Robert Grimes

00:51 Skeptical Inquiry Fellow

01:52 Why Misinformation Spreads

03:24 Anti Vaccine History

05:12 Misinfo Disinfo Malinfo

06:40 Water Hoax Explained

10:22 Pharmacists Build Trust

14:34 Wellness Industry Myths

15:35 Black Market GLP 1s

16:59 Red Light Masks Hype

18:19 Debunking Red Light Masks

22:25 Influencers and Acceptability

23:46 Parasocial Trust and Targeted Ads

25:26 Ethics of Paid Promotions

28:30 Regulating Medical Influencers

30:00 Collagen Hype Debunked

33:21 Supplements and Real Evidence

35:02 Pseudo Profound Wellness Talk

37:26 Disinformation and Russia Examples

41:22 Media Literacy Finland Model

43:34 Slow Down Verify and AI Limits

45:45 Pharmacists as First Stop

46:41 Wrap Up

This episode was brought to you by Vital Pharmacies Ireland

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On the Irish Pharmacy Podcast, brought to you by the Vital Pharmacies Group, host Sheena is joined by Dr. Noel Richardson (Men’s Health Forum in Ireland, National Centre for Men’s Health at Southeast Technological University, and HSE men’s health policy advisor) and Dr. Maura Finn (GP at Ennis Medical) to discuss men’s health, masculinity, and help-seeking in Ireland. They highlight stark inequalities, including higher premature male mortality (especially in deprived areas) and preventable risk factors such as alcohol, tobacco/drug use, obesity, low physical activity, risk-taking, and low engagement with services. Richardson describes masculinity as shaped by social determinants, rapid cultural/technological change, and pandemic-driven isolation among young men, and stresses community and workplace outreach programs like Men on the Move and Farmers Have Hearts. Finn explains why women typically build earlier healthcare relationships, while men often present late due to fear and lack of connection, and notes gaps in referral pathways and talk-therapy supports. They emphasize the role of community pharmacy, school-based health literacy (including SPHE), supporting fatherhood, staying connected, and improving bowel screening uptake. This episode was brought to you by Vital Pharmacies Ireland

Useful links

• Order a FREE HSE STI kit here!
• BowelScreen Info and kit ordering here!
• The Real face of Men's Health Report available here!

Timeline

00:00 Welcome and Guests

01:25 Why Mens Health Matters

04:34 Masculinity in Modern Ireland

08:53 Isolation and Social Change

10:51 Why Men Avoid the GP

17:09 Reaching Hard to Reach Men

23:48 Pharmacy and Community Solutions

25:57 Fear Confidentiality and Culture

29:15 Schools and Health Literacy

32:27 Online Trends and Looksmaxing

33:16 Wish List and Practical Advice

34:51 Screening Takeaways and Wrap Up

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Sheena introduces the Irish Pharmacy Podcast, brought to you by Vital Pharmacies a monthly show that breaks down the health stories behind the headlines in a way that makes sense. Each episode features friendly, honest conversations about the topics everyone’s talking about—new trends, common wellness questions, and the things people end up Googling late at night—without jargon or lectures. The podcast aims to help listeners and their families feel more informed about their health and get the real facts on the issues they’ve been wondering about. New episodes release monthly, and listeners are invited to follow wherever they get their podcasts.

00:00 Welcome and Purpose

00:09 Meet Sheena

00:15 What to Expect

00:31 No Jargon Promise

00:41 Join the Conversation

00:49 Monthly Episodes

00:53 Follow and Subscribe

Find Vital Pharmacies on Instagram!

Host - Sheena Mitchell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.