In France too (and they don’t sell cigarettes, alcohol, junk food or subway passes), and I’m completely accustomed to it, but now that you mention it, I’m wondering why. Long ago, pharmacists prepaded themselves a large part of the drugs they were selling so it probably made sense, but nowadays it’s very rare that a pharmacist prepares anything (and I even believe that when it happens, the preparation is usually made in some specialized lab, not at the pharmacy you walked in).
So, maybe I’m missing something, but I suppose it’s only done because it’s what people expect to see, and so that the pharmacist and his employees look like serious health care professionals rather than like some random unqualified sale assistant.