Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

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FOOD SUPPLEMENT USE IN THE ROMANIAN ADULT POPULATION: PREVALENCE, SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DETERMINANTS AND THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING EXPOSURE – A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

CRISTINA IOANA NICULAȘ 1, MARIUS CĂLIN CHERECHEȘ 2, SONIA BIANCA BLAJ 3, DANIELA-LUCIA MUNTEAN 2*

¹ Medicine and Pharmacy Doctoral School, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and
Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania
2 Faculty of Pharmacy, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș,
Romania
3 Department of Law and Public Administration, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and
Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania

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This study examines the prevalence of food supplements (FS) use and its sociodemographic and advertising-related determi- nants among the Romanian adult population. This research used a nationally representative cross-sectional survey in Roma- nia in 2026. The sample consisted of 1164 adult responders. The prevalence of FS use was 35,9%. Vitamins and minerals were the most commonly used FS. Food supplements reach consumers through a hybrid media ecosystem dominated by television (60.2%) and social media (44.7%), as well as pharmacy-based communication (13.2%), the latter being especially important because it links FS to regulated medicines and may confer a perception of safety. On consumer beliefs about FS safety, the findings highlight simultaneous credulity and criticality within the same group. The results indicate both frequent exposure to FS advertisements and low declared trust in such advertising. Among users, higher self-reported trust in FS advertising was associated with greater self-reported influence of advertising on FS purchase. The extensive use of FS re- flects the process of biomedicalization and the perspective of health as a form of consumption. This highlights the importance of implementing stricter FS advertising regulations to protect consumers from misleading claims.