The pharmacy profession believes the Federal Government's strong focus on developing effective preventative health policies has the potential to greatly benefit the Australian community.

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia President Warwick Plunkett said the pharmacy profession was well placed to offer cost-effective support for implementation of many of the initiatives being considered by the Preventative Health Taskforce.

"One of the major advantages of using the existing network of community pharmacies as part of any integrated health strategy is accessibility," Mr Plunkett said.

The taskforce was established by Health Minister Nicola Roxon in April and earlier this month it issued a lengthy discussion paper -Australia: the healthiest country by 2020 - which canvassed the current situation regarding obesity, smoking and alcohol use and outlined potential preventative health strategies to address these issues. This was accompanied by technical papers covering its three major focus areas: Obesity in Australia: a need for urgent action ; Tobacco control in Australia: making smoking history; and Preventing alcohol-related harm in Australia: a window of opportunity.

"I congratulate the Health Minister for her strong proactive support for a new focus on preventative health," Mr Plunkett said.

"The pharmacy profession already operates programs - such as Pharmacy Self Care - which help deliver good preventative health outcomes to the community.

"Pharmacy Self Care is a program currently delivered by the Pharmaceutical Society through about 30 per cent of pharmacies. It provides health education for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants as well as evidence-based consumer information on a range of 80 health topics including many areas of preventative health.

"Programs such as this provide an ideal platform for more formal pharmacist involvement in delivering consumer education and advice on healthier lifestyle choices that could help to rein in the massive cost of chronic diseases.

"I would encourage the Government to utilise programs delivered through pharmacies as it seeks to attain its preventative health goals."

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is the organisation that represents the professional interests of pharmacists across the nation. It provides standards of practice, education, training and practice support for pharmacists and helps members of the profession to deliver quality health care to consumers.

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia