Mumbai: Around 55,000 retail chemists and pharmacists in Maharashtra joined the day-long nationwide strike on Wednesday called by All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), demanding a ban on online sale of medicines, an official said.
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Stating that online sale of medicines is illegal under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the chemists voiced their apprehension that the move would also endanger livelihood of lakhs of people employed by drug stores.
President DRDCA said “we allowed a few shops to remain open to provide emergency service to the public”.
The government says it is in the process of drawing up guidelines to regulate online drug sales.
The strike affected other parts of the country with Punjab, Chandigarh, Assam and Andhra Pradesh being the worst hit.
“Hence, we have no other alternative to go on strike to protect the health of general public”, he had said. “Approximately 800,000 chemists will be on strike”, group president J.S. Shinde told reporters.
Brick-and-mortar pharmacies see online pharmacies – a relatively new phenomenon in India – as a threat mainly because they charge less for similar medicines and even give discounts, which most mom-and-pop stores avoid.
A few chemists over the country underneath the aegis of the All-Asia Company of Druggists and Chemists on Thursday downed their shades challenging motion from medicines’ government against “illegitimate” online purchase.
The letter also mentioned that the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), the professional organization that represents the state boards of pharmacy in the United States, found that only 4% of online websites reviewed appear to meet state and federal pharmacy laws.
Summary: We have not framed a policy regarding the sale selling online drugs which take a time at least 8 months.
He further claimed that the online pharmacies are supplying all products, including I-pill, anti-depression and codeine cough syrups, without confirming the authenticity of prescription and patients. In a statement, the ministry said the panel’s mere examination of representations made to the government should not be construed as the intention of the government to permit any sales.
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The one-day strike called by AIOCD will also include over 12,000 medicine retailers observing the bandh in Delhi, the Association said.
