1: Do Teens Turn to AI for Mental Health Advice?

A national survey of 42 million US youth found that ~20% of adolescents use AI chatbots for mental health advice. Among those who sought advice from AI chatbots, 42.8% did so at least monthly, though 63.3% had not disclosed their use to anyone. While 91.7% rated the advice at least somewhat helpful (66.7% somewhat helpful; 25.0% very helpful), experts have raised concerns regarding the quality and reliability of advice provided by these tools. Currently,
therapeutic guidance from mental health professionals cannot be substituted by AI chatbots, particularly for patients with more intensive mental health needs.

2: Simulation Training: Pharmacists Are In, Access Is Out

A British Columbia survey published in the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy looked at how hospital pharmacists feel about mannequin-based simulation (the kind of high-fidelity, dummy-patient training long used in medicine and nursing). Turns out they want in: 98% said it creates a safe learning environment and 86% said it would enhance their clinical skills. The problem is 83% have never had meaningful access to it, and limited exposure makes it harder to advocate for. Of 146 respondents, 71% wanted pharmacy-led sessions and 66% supported integrating them into residency programs. With pharmacists taking on more clinical roles, the case for a seat at the simulation table is getting harder to ignore.

3: Hypertension Combo Pills: Recommended, Rarely Used

A study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology tracked more than 7 million US adults starting antihypertensive therapy over a decade and found only 6% initiated single-pill combination therapy, despite guidelines increasingly recommending it. Another 86% started on monotherapy alone, and uptake has actually declined since 2015. Researchers pointed to clinician habit, tolerability concerns, and insurance constraints as likely drivers, and called for a focus on implementation rather than guideline publication alone.

Drug Shortages ⚠️

Taro-Pregabalin (pregabalin), 25 mg, 50 mg & 75 mg

Taro-Ciproflox (ciprofloxacin), 250 mg, 500 mg & 750 mg

Newly Approved Drugs ✨

Nucala (mepolizumab, GSK)

As climate change alters the epidemiology of infectious diseases, CPhA launches a project to turn pharmacists into climate-informed clinicians.

What happened: The Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), in partnership with the Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada (IPPC), has launched the RxClimate Action project. Supported by federal funding, the initiative is actively recruiting frontline pharmacists for a June 23 online focus group to build a brand-new clinical toolkit. These resources are designed to help pharmacy teams map, identify, and clinically manage the rapidly accelerating spread of climate-sensitive infectious diseases across Canada, specifically targeting Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and acute waterborne pathogens.

Why it matters: Climate change isn't just an abstract environmental issue; it is actively redrawing Canada’s infectious disease map. Shorter, milder winters mean disease vectors like blacklegged ticks and mosquitoes are migrating north, surviving the cold, and expanding their breeding seasons directly into suburban backyards. When a patient pulls a strange bug off their leg or develops an unexplained rash after swimming, they don't wait weeks for a physician's appointment, they walk straight to the local pharmacy counter. This project aims to equip pharmacists to act as front-line public health anchors and early-warning epidemiologists who can accurately triage these emerging regional risks.

But: The project arrives at a time when community pharmacy infrastructure is already severely strained. Safely managing these emerging public health demands—which require detailed vector tracking, complex geographic risk assessments, and close coordination with remote or Indigenous public health teams—adds heavy cognitive load to a daily workflow already burdened by severe corporate metrics and persistent drug shortages. For many understaffed dispensaries, finding the uninterrupted time to conduct these detailed environmental clinical assessments is a massive uphill battle.

Bottom line: As global warming introduces tropical and vector-borne threats to Canadian communities, the federal government is placing a major bet on the accessibility of community pharmacies. Turning the local counter into a climate-informed triage hub is a brilliant move for public health access, but it will only succeed if the healthcare system provides frontline staff with the actual operational support and time needed to safely step into the role of climate clinicians.

1: 💉 Ozempic and Wegovy may be getting more company. Phase 3 trial results suggest that retatrutide, a triple-action weekly injection for type 2 diabetes, can significantly reduce both blood sugar and body weight. Patients lost 11.5%–15.3% of their body weight over 40 weeks, compared with 2.6% on placebo. Unlike current GLP-1 drugs, retatrutide also targets the glucagon receptor, which may help increase energy expenditure. Researchers say the added mechanism could offer another option for patients who need more intensive metabolic treatment.

2: 🥛 Got milk? Maybe not for fracture prevention. A new review of 69 trials involving more than 153K participants found little to no meaningful benefit from calcium, vitamin D, or combined supplementation for preventing fractures or falls. That doesn't mean patients should ditch supplements prescribed for deficiency, osteoporosis, long-term corticosteroid use, or certain bone or endocrine conditions. But for routine prevention in adults, bone-health advice may need another look.

3: 🍷 The latest science on alcohol and health hasn't been easy to swallow in Canada, but in the US, some still can't wash it down. A government-commissioned alcohol report that was ultimately excluded from the latest US dietary guidelines has now been published in Nature Health. Its conclusion: alcohol provides no overall health benefit, and even low levels of consumption may increase the risk of several diseases and causes of death. Critics argue the report was methodologically flawed. Supporters say it was sidelined because its findings were… distasteful.

🍰 Make: these ube cake bars. Purple yam, coconut, sweetened condensed milk. The colour alone is worth it.

📖 Read: about why whey protein is running out. Some suppliers are sold out for the rest of 2026. Blame the people putting it in Eggo waffles.

⚽ Cheer: for whoever you want, no matter who’s predicted to win. The World Cup kicks off in Canada this week, and the favourites are (probably) exactly who you'd expect.

🧴 Learn: whether collagen supplements are worth it. Nearly 8,000 participants, one very large review, and finally some actual answers.

👀 Watch: the history of football on a map: from Chinese feather-ball games in 300 BC to 3.2 billion viewers in 2010. 

First clue: ___ coverage: e.g. ceftriaxone or amoxicillin-clavulanate for 5-7 days

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“The pharmacist’s prescribing authority is expanding… are you excited or nervous?”

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