Online sale of medicines: chemist shops in Rajasthan to remain closed tomorrow

Jaipur:  All the medical stores and chemists’ shops in Jaipur and across Rajasthan will remained closed on September 28 in protest of online sale of medicines. The All India Chemists and Druggists Association announced a nationwide bandh (shutdown) and all the medical stores in Rajasthan will join the protest on Friday.

Chemists are demanding a ban on the online sale of drugs nationwide as they alleged that the trade is not properly authenticated. No proper investigations and verifications are done for online sale of medicines, they alleged.

As the trend of online shopping is catching up in Rajasthan, people are buying even medicines online. The online agencies are taking advantage of this and selling medicines at low prices without proper verification, chemists alleged.

Earlier, several protests have taken place demanding a check on online sale of medicines. There has been no response from the government so far.

According to Rajasthan spokesperson, AICDA Ajay Agarwal, the demand for a ban on online sale of medicines has been made several times in the past. Online drug business should be strictly prohibited as there is no verification and authentication of the medicines sold online. This can put a patient’s life in danger. If the government will not respond to the demands then the protest will be held on a bigger scale, he added.

Agarwal said that online pharmacies are a threat to public health and the business of regular pharmacists in the country. Tech-savvy youths in the country could misuse the online pharmacies for purchasing drugs that are banned. They can buy medicines that require prescriptions. The online markets give the discount on medicine up to 70% in most cases to increase the reach, said one of the local chemists of Jaipur.