TN druggists seek govt intervention on e-pharmacies, pricing policy

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Druggists and Chemists Association staged a protest recently to present various demands to the drug control authorities in the state. Despite numerous requests, the Tamil Nadu Druggists and Chemists are still waiting for a change in the pricing policy of medicines, concerns about online pharmacies, and pharmacy regulations. 

The chemists say that manufacturers offer massive discounts to online retailers, chain discount stores, and hospitals, but the same doesn't apply to them, and thus, their business suffers.

They request that the government also recognise pharmacists as frontline workers.

The e-pharmacies continue to be their concern as proper prescription verification and other processes are not completed by them. "To prevent unfair discounting of poor quality and to enact a law that businesses should not sell at prices below MRP. In a competition to offer discount prices, it is more likely that substandard and fake drugs are introduced into circulation," said S Ramachandran, former secretary of the Tamil Nadu Druggists and Chemists Association.

On behalf of the Tamil Nadu Druggists and Chemists Association, druggists say strict adherence to the regulation of writing generic names of medicines should also be followed. They also request that the drug inspectors prohibit police officers from entering the stores for inspection by drug inspectors from time to time to monitor the sale of our drugs.

They urge the government to ensure that Jan Aushadhi dispensaries sell only medicines manufactured for them and not common generic medicines, as they are not licenced for the same. They also stated that pharmacists are slapped with huge fines and imprisonment if they don't maintain the records, which does not harm the public's health in any way, and the same penalty is levied for major crimes as well. A proper regulation should be brought in for different penalty systems, the chemists urge.