The State Drugs Controller has appealed to pharmacists to desist from their proposed bandh on October 14, when chemists across the State are shutting medical shops for a day in protest against the Centre’s proposal to allow the sale of medicines through Internet-based pharmacies.
The All Kerala Chemists and Druggists’ Association (AKCDA) had given the bandh call in the State, while nationwide an estimated eight lakh chemists are participating in the shutters-down protest on October 14, following a call by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD).
AKCDA leaders have pointed out that the idea of online trade of drugs was against the provisions in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which states that no person other than a registered pharmacist shall compound, prepare, mix, or dispense any medicine on the prescription of a medical practitioner. It also says that online trade of drugs will expose the market to several unhealthy trends such as the sale of dubious drugs, encourage self-medication and make available dangerous drugs to people without prescription.
There is however, a growing argument that the government should try to strike a balance and that people should have the convenience of accessing drugs at discounted prices on online pharmaciesDrugs Controller P. Hariprasad has pointed out that the Centre has set up a subcommittee under Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Harshdeep Kamble to look into the possibilities and prospects of online medicine sale.
The committee is yet to submit its report and hence the pharmacists should withdraw from this pre-emptive bandh, which will put the public to much hardships, he said.
