Boots CBD products in the UK: Do big retailers play fair and square?
The cannabidiol industry is growing at a quick rate in the United Kingdom. The researchers from the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CTA) revealed that the number of people consuming various forms of CBD to improve their condition doubled in Great Britain. Over two years, the size of the UK CBD market grew from £100 million to £300 million, and the number of users jumped from 250 thousand to 1.3 million. The CBD industry has exploded recently due to growing popularity and awareness of cannabidiol-infused products, together with the fact that these goods have appeared on the shelves of giant retailers, such as Holland & Barrett, Planet Organic, Boots, and others.
Nevertheless, the hype around something doesn’t mean this item is any good. It could just be a scam or even a fraud. The CBD advancing market attracts more and more big and small vendors offering a wide range of products containing cannabidiol. At the present time, there are a lot of other CBD sellers in the UK, but customers choose Boots because it’s a well-known and popular brand that people can trust, and there’s no reason to go an extra mile and search for CBD products at other places. In this article, we will examine CBD goods offered on the Boots’ website, so that you know whether it’s worth spending your cash on or choosing another shop.
In CBD we trust
In the first instance, you might want to know whether it’s worth using any CBD products at all. Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the numerous active compounds called cannabinoids identified in the Cannabis sativa plant. In Great Britain, all legal cannabidiol is extracted from the industrial hemp, which contains up to 0.2% THC and, therefore, cannot make a user “high.” THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is a psychoactive and hallucinogenic chemical found in cannabis that induces psychotic and other psychiatric symptoms in humans. Where do manufacturers procure their CBD oils? It is currently permitted to grow the industrial hemp under license in the United Kingdom.
People consume products based on CBD mainly as food supplements that are available on the market in a great number of forms: oils, topicals, beverages, and edibles. CBD oil is the fastest-selling and versatile form because users can easily add a couple of drops in their porridge, coffee, juice, cream, lotion, or everything they’d like. Or just put the required dose of CBD oil under their tongue and swallow. These products usually consist of CBD suspended in an inert oil, such as coconut oil or hempseed oil. Sometimes they also include other cannabinoids and terpenes to contribute special characteristics of taste, aroma, and colour. So, how exactly does cannabidiol influence the human body?
The human body contains an endocannabinoid system (ECS) consisting of a network of cannabinoid receptors. The ECS plays an important role in the organism of any living being. The cannabinoid receptors maintain homeostasis and regulate the response of our organism to particular triggers. For example, they manage our appetite, mood, sleep, memory, temperature, and many other important functions. Simply put, the endocannabinoid system helps the human body function properly. Metaphorically speaking, the cannabinoid receptors sit on the surface of our cells and track whether something goes wrong in our body. In case of any “breakdowns,” endocannabinoids appear and bind to specific receptors to send the cells a signal to respond in an appropriate manner.
How does CBD come into the picture? Cannabidiol can facilitate the creation of these endocannabinoids. Furthermore, it’s a completely natural way to give a boost to your endocannabinoid system. As a rule, consumers prefer taking CBD supplements instead of chemicals that adversely affect our health and organism. When you place a few drops of CBD oil under your tongue and hold them for 60 to 90 seconds before swallowing, the compound will be absorbed into your bloodstream through the capillaries beneath your tongue. When CBD comes to your body, it will immediately proceed to the “repair.”
The specialists from the World Health Organisation (WHO) investigated cannabidiol and found no adverse health impact. They came to the conclusion that this chemical is generally safe, well-tolerated, and non-addictive in humans. The participants of the research reported just several minor side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, dry mouth, and other common adverse events, all of which are not dangerous.
In spite of the fact that the cannabidiol properties are not fully explored yet and require more research in humans, the preclinical and clinical trials conducted by various scientists from all over the world demonstrated that the CBD application has a positive effect on the physical and mental human health. Cannabidiol-infused products can successfully be used to relieve a wide range of conditions.
For example, CBD can be effective in the treatment of arthritis, heart disorders, epilepsy, mental derangements, insomnia, addiction, skin problems, and many others. The whole world knows how patients with cancer go through chemotherapy and radiation treatment. They lose appetite and weight, as well as suffer from nausea. According to numerous studies, CBD can help these patients cope with adverse reactions.
If you are someone who needs relief or wants to embrace sport and a healthy lifestyle, then make CBD a part of your daily routine. Adding some amount of cannabidiol in your morning coffee or juice will improve your mood and keep you as fresh as paint all day. People believe in the power of cannabidiol and are ready to spend millions of dollars on CBD-rich supplements.
It’s no wonder that the advancing CBD market attracts new participants who want to cut a slice of this promising pie and take their place in the sun. While honest and faithful companies are gaining customers’ confidence by providing CBD products properly labelled and tested by independent labs, thieving businesses think only about their profit instead of quality. Today consumers can find cannabidiol-containing goods everywhere. Well-established and unknown, large and small vendors sell various types of CBD supplements that suit every pocket. Is it any good? How to sift out ashes from cinders and avoid fakes?
The reverse side of the coin
In light of the fact that cannabidiol supplements were legalised with the adoption of the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD products are relatively new to the health commercial market. You know that cannabis has been considered dangerous for a long period of time, due to which the US Food and Drug Administration has had no opportunity to regulate this area in the right manner. There are still no adequate guidelines on labelling, sale, and distribution of CBD-contained goods.
Honest and responsible manufacturers and sellers take appropriate measures to bring duly labelled and safe CBD products to the market. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous market participants use the lack of official labelling and testing requirements to cheat consumers and sell them fake and even dangerous CBD goods.
The University of Pennsylvania conducted a study in 2017. The scientists tested 84 products containing cannabidiol from 31 countries from all over the world. They revealed that 70% of these samples have improper labels stating wrong ingredient amounts or an incorrect list of components. For example, tetrahydrocannabinol was found in some tested samples, although they claimed to be THC-free. If an individual bought and ingested this product reportedly released from THC, he/she could be on thin ice by failing a drug test and even losing a job.
Every CBD manufacturer and distributor must test their products at third-party labs and submit an appropriate Certificate of Analysis (COA) at the customer’s request. The independent labs are not affiliated with CBD producers and sellers directly. They are not interested in misrepresentation of the content of cannabidiol products. Moreover, trustworthy businesses are careful to train their employees so that they will be able to answer all customers’ questions about the CBD supplement content, ingredients, amount of cannabidiol and other components, storage conditions, contradictions, methods of administration, hemp source of origin, and others.
Is it worth trusting high street chains like Boots?
Why not? Boots is one of the oldest and largest UK retailers that cooperates with hundreds of brands and offers a great number of different health and beauty goods, including pharmaceuticals. The first herbal medicine shop was opened by John Boot in Nottingham 170 years ago. Since then, the company has expanded to around 2,500 stores across Great Britain and Ireland. When public interest in cannabidiol supplements grew, the company introduced CBD products to its range and even launched the production of its own brands a couple of years ago. This means that CBD-infused gummies, drinks, and topicals have become closer and more available to consumers.
So, what’s the matter? The company was involved in a number of scandals. It was accused of selling useless homoeopathic products, carrying out unnecessary medicine-use reviews, maltreating its staff, and driving up prices. On January 8, 2018, the BBC told about the deaths of three patients associated with dispensing errors. In addition, one of the patients complained that a “frazzled” pharmacist gave him the wrong drug in December 2017. By the way, the mental health of pharmacists employed at Boots was even discussed in the House of Commons on October 25, 2017, when one of the company’s pharmacists, Alison Stamps, suicided in May 2015.
Are things indeed that bad at Boots? We have examined the retailer staff’s reviews on Trustpilot and discovered that the company’s total score is 3.7 out of 4 based on 3.6k testimonials. The employees mainly complained about the hostile work environment, stressful and intense job, poor management, low earnings, and so on. Will the employer that doesn’t take care of its staff think about customers? Let’s check!
At the moment, Boots offers the CBD products of 17 manufacturers, including two ones being sold under its own brand — Boots Ingredients Hemp Seed Oil and Boots CBD Muscle Gel. It’s stated on the website that the gel contains cannabidiol, lemon oil, witch hazel, magnolia bark, and wheat protein. It promises to nourish and moisturise the skin, as well as soothe and relax muscles. The oil consisting of hemp seed should be used to moisture and calm the skin. What has made us raise a red flag?
The stand-out issue is that neither labels nor the website give any exact information about the CBD strength. We see a list of ingredients but don’t see the milligrams stated on the bottle or on the website. Secondly, the description of the oil raises questions because it’s claimed to be a hemp seed oil rather than a cannabidiol oil.
CBD oil and hempseed oil are two completely different things because hemp seeds don’t contain a lot of cannabinoids at all, which makes them worthless in terms of taking your CBD. The “Ingredients” section has information that the bottle contains “Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil”, but is this description referring to hemp seeds or CBD?
Some manufacturers and sellers intentionally or unintentionally use the tricky marketing tactics to mix the terms “hemp seed” and “CBD” up. Both hempseed and CBD oils are in the same cannabis family, but they are not the same thing as wrongly marketed by vendors. Why do companies do this? The answer is simple — hempseed oil is cheaper than CBD. Consumers mistakenly think that they are going to buy a CBD oil and take it from the shelf while it contains no cannabidiol at all.
The third issue is that we have found no COAs on the website. Third-party lab testing indeed requires more time and money. But we believe that big players have enough capital to investigate the subject they’re going to introduce to the public. Unfortunately, they choose their popularity and leverage instead of quality to sell the goods and make a profit.
Final thoughts
To sum up, it’s essential to explore the product before making the final decision. To get the best of CBD, you should understand how it can help you and how it works before purchasing it. The next quest is to find a trustworthy brand. CBD products are appearing on the shelves of large and small stores at the speed of light. Don’t stake on big names, turn to brands that look into a matter and take care of quality.
If you still don’t know how to choose a trusted CBD brand, what COAs look like, or have any questions regarding CBD products, please refer to our research and articles on Alphagreen Academy and Medium blog.
Verified by a Healthcare Professional
Anastasiia Myronenko
Anastasiia Myronenko is a Medical Physicist actively practicing in one of the leading cancer centers in Kyiv, Ukraine. She received her master’s degree in Medical Physics at Karazin Kharkiv National University and completed Biological Physics internship at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Germany. Anastasiia Myronenko specializes in radiation therapy and is a fellow of Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists.
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