HEALTH

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — The Vitamin Shoppe on Thursday announced that it has closed on the previously announced purchase of Super Supplements — a specialty retailer of vitamins, minerals and supplements — for approximately $50 million.  

Super Supplements is headquartered in Seattle and operates 31 stores in the Pacific Northwest.

WASHINGTON — Two nonprofit groups focused on asthma and allergies will merge to combine their efforts.

The Kids with Food Allergies Foundation will become a division of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, and the combined organization will provide education, advocacy, research, social networking and support for families living with the diseases. The groups' boards agreed to merge in 2012.

NORWELL, Mass. — Carex Health Brands on Thursday unveiled a revamped website featuring both a consumer-centric and a business-to-business version.

“We feel this new website design reflects who we are as a company and better serves both our consumer-facing and B-to-B customers," stated Jeff Swain, VP marketing, Carex Health Brands. "Every day at Carex we seek to improve the quality of life of our consumers and to better serve our resellers. This web site is a giant leap forward toward accomplishing those goals.” 

CHICAGO — Swisse Wellness, one of Australia's leading multivitamin brands, on Thursday announced availability of 15 of its most popular multivitamins and dietary supplements through Walgreens. 

"We are impressed by Swisse's growth, commitment to its principles and the research investment in the premium quality of their multivitamins and supplements," stated Robert Tompkins, divisional VP and general merchandise manager for Walgreens.  

NEW YORK — Safeway pharmacists will use a program developed by the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy to help people quit smoking, under a partnership with the supermarket operator announced by the university.

Safeway pharmacists will receive training in smoking-cessation counseling techniques developed by the UCSF pharmacy faculty, while stores will locate OTC nicotine-replacement therapies near pharmacy areas, giving customers convenient access to the pharmacist.

ATLANTA — Between 2006 and 2010, 1-in-9 sexually experienced women between the ages of 15 and 44 years had used emergency contraception at least once, the National Center for Health Statistics noted in a report released Wednesday. Use of emergency contraception, such as Plan B One-Step, was the most common among women between the ages of 20 and 24 years, those who never married, Hispanic or non-Hispanic white women, and those who attended college. 

That compares with 2-in-5 women who used emergency contraception in 2002 and fewer than 1-in-10 women in 1995. 

NEW YORK — Church & Dwight's yellow-cab promotion highlighting its Trojan brand during Condom Awareness Week may have hit a snag, AdAge reported Tuesday. 

According to the report, the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission suggested the promotion was not properly licensed. 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare North America on Wednesday announced that its Tums Freshers was voted 2013 Product of the Year in the OTC relief category as part of a survey of more than 50,000 people conducted by global research firm TNS.