Around 2,000 medicine stores in the district, including the 1,000 in the city, downed their shutters on Friday in protest against the the Central government’s move to regularise the sale of medicines online. However, the drugstore chains remained opened as they did not participate in the strike.
The day-long bandh was observed in response to the call given by All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) which said that with no regulatory mechanism in place, allowing the e-pharmacies posed the risk of irrational usage of medicines and sale of spurious drugs.
“We submitted a memorandum to Collector Pravin Kumar on Thursday, along with a list of the pharmacies that would remain open to avoid inconvenience to people,” V. Sitaramaiah, secretary of Visakhapatnam Drug Trade Association said, adding that the pharmacies in hospitals and all generic medicine stores were exempted from the strike.
He said that regularisation of e-pharmacies was a threat to the business and livelihood of the retailers.
Quality of drugs
“The quality of the drugs can not be ensured and the issue will have serious consequences in the rural areas where people are in the habit of self medication and using alternative drugs suggested by the e-pharmacies. While placing an order, the e-pharmacies have made it mandatory to click on the option of accepting the condition that the users agree to accept the alternative medicines, if the online stores do not have the prescribed medicines,” he explained.
He also pointed out that the quality of the drugs which needed to be stored at a certain temperature could not be ensured as it was not possible during the delivery. “Further, the e-pharmacies are offering 50 % or more discount which will drive out the small chemists from the market,” Mr. Sitaramaiah said.
The AIOCD has already represented the mater to the Centre on several occasions in the past and it has also threatened to go on an indefinite nation-wide strike on the issue, if the government does not respond positively to the demands.
“The use of unwanted drugs such as habit-forming drugs and those for termination of pregnancy would become rampant and lead to serious complications,” said P. Kameswara Rao, national president of the Federation of Medical Representatives Association of India (FMRAI).