Study shows most Americans store vitamins in kitchen cabinets

WASHINGTON The majority of American adults who take vitamins and other supplements every year are keeping them in their kitchen cabinet, according to the 2008 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements released Tuesday. As many as 52% of supplement users indicated that they store their supplements in a kitchen cabinet, the association noted.

These findings are consistent with results from the 2007 “Life…supplemented” Healthcare Professionals Impact Study, which surveyed U.S. doctors and nurses on their usage and attitudes of dietary supplements and found that a similar number — 59% of physicians and 66% of nurses — are also keeping their vitamins and other supplements in the kitchen cabinet. This same survey also found that 72% of physicians and 89% of nurses personally use dietary supplements, and that 79% of physicians and 82% of nurses recommend dietary supplements to their patients.

Like healthcare professionals, supplement consumers are using their bathroom cabinet as the second most popular place to store their supplements.  As many as 23% of consumers (as well as 25% of doctors and 27% of nurses) reported housing their supplements there.  Supplement consumers also report storing their supplements in other locations, including:  kitchen counter (15%), night table (11%), refrigerator (7%), desk at home (5%), bathroom counter (5%), closet (4%), purse or briefcase (4%) and desk in office (3%).

The following supplements ranked the highest when supplement users were asked in the 2008 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements what supplements they had taken in the past twelve months:

•     Multivitamin (taken by 82% of supplement consumers)
•     Vitamin C (32%)
•     Calcium (32%)
•     Omega 3/Fish Oil (28%)
•     Vitamin B/B Complex (23%)
•     Vitamin E (20%)
•     Vitamin D (16%)
•     Green Tea (16%)
•     Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin (15%)
•     Flax Seed (11%)

The 2008 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements was conducted Aug. 20-25, 2008 by Ipsos Public Affairs and funded by CRN.  The survey was conducted on-line and included a national sample of 2,013 adults aged 18 and older from Ipsos’ U.S. on-line panel. The survey has been conducted annually since 2000.