your report found women saying that they dealt with things like crippling anxiety. i m wondering, sam, are companies in this space taking advantage of people who are who are suffering and then selling things to them, which may not be that useful, like food supplements and creams and even lipsticks? i think the first thing to say on that is that everybody s menopause is going to be different. it is about choice and control. so it is incredibly hard to say whether one product works for you or whether it won t. you really do need that choice and control. and i come back to the importance around integrity. that is why with our symbol, it has governance and integrity associated with it, so that products that do deploy the m tic have followed a process and they have the data that then supports that they are worthy of carrying that m tic. i think like all situations, a degree of regulation and integrity is required.
especially in the early stages of menopause. we ve done actually a research across our customers and especially those during perimenopause. about 70% of them said that they didn t want to take hrt, yet they wanted to look at lifestyle nutrition. so, lena, do your staff tell customers to to go to a doctor so, lina, do your staff tell customers to to go to a doctor or to buy food supplements? i mean, we need to have a holistic conversation with our with our customers. so they will definitely signpost people. and we actually have in partnership with the menopause mandate a menopause nurses hotline. so if anybody presents themselves that we think that they should be signposted to somebody with a bit more of a medical background, they will have access for free to our menopause nurses hotline, who can then advise on seeking specialist support or gp support. lina, you operate in lots of countries, notjust here in the uk. how do attitudes to the menopause differ?
but sam, i have to say this and you ll know it. some doctors will say that women dealing with menopause treatment are best served getting medical advice rather than, you know, skin creams or lipsticks or food supplements. the questions out there and it s got to be asked, do you think some companies are trading on the very insecurities that some women become prone to as they go through the menopause? yeah, i think that s a very, very good point you raise. i ll come back to our research because we know from the data that we have that the majority of women. yes, if they can seek medical support, they absolutely do. and they should, we definitely encourage that, of course. but where they can t and there are some challenges at the moment with access to medical support, women we know are self diagnosing. there is an increase in the use of apps, there is an increase in the thirst for information over the internet. and that s why brands