Retailers oppose online medicine sales

Ahead of day's national strike on this issue, they demand no move away from adherence to existing law, in the name of public health and safety

Pharmacy retailers have come out strongly against online sale of medicines in any format. In their comments to the committee constituted by the health ministry to examine the issue, the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) stated that online pharmacy sales would be entirely illegal in the context of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Information Technology Act. AIOCD says it represents 750,000 chemists and druggists.

The committee, headed by Harshadeep Kamble, commissioner of Maharashtra's Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), had invited comments from various stakeholders — citizens, companies, associations and trade bodies  — on the issue. This Monday was the final date for doing so.

Kamble is also learnt to have called a meeting of stakeholders next month. Leading e-commerce player Snapdeal had launched sale of prescription drugs online early this year, triggering a controversy. In May, the Maharashtra FDA filed a police case against Snapdeal chief executive Kunal Bahl and the company's directors for violation of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act (legislated in 1940) and the Drugs & Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.  Later, the government set up this committee to look into the provisions of the 1940 Act and the rules framed to give effect to it. And, to examine the practices in developed countries, beside evaluating the risks and concerns of online sale.

AIOCD plans a nationwide day's strike on October 14 to protest against online pharmacy sale. It has said the1940 Act ensures availability of safe, standard and efficacious medicines, and prevents misuse.

To ensure this, the Act lays emphasis on licensing and compliance with licensing conditions. “The condition of licences is such that they provide safeguard to the patients, so that he/she does not resort to self-medication and takes medicine only as prescribed by a registered practitioner,” the organisation has said.

Also said that Rule 65 (10) of the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules do not recognise a prescription in electronic form or a scanned copy or photocopy or prescription forwarded through mobile apps.

The association says online sale can happen without verification of the authenticity of a precription and many times even without a prescription. “These practices can lead to self-medication and irrational use of medicines”, it said. An online seller cannot verify if the prescribing doctor is a registered medical practitioner or not. It has also raised the issue of a practitioner not being registered in the state where drugs are being delivered.

“There is no guarantee that drugs are stored in appropriate condition during transit through courier or other means of transport. Thus, it can lead to loss of potency of the drugs,” it has further argued.

AIOCD president J S Shinde and general secretary Suresh Gupta have said in the submission that the hazard and risk involved for the patient is much more than the convenience provided through online transaction. It said medicines cannot be equated with any other commodity in order to permit online sale.

Gupta told Business Standard  that medicine worth Rs 10,000 crore in the annual Rs 84,000 crore domestic market comes back to chemists, since doctors change medicines or recovery is quicker. He said retailers replace these medicines with others or even refund money. He claimed online sellers won't be able to take care of this.

Referring to the practice in developed countries, the organisation stated that the advocates of online pharmacy are referring to international practices without reference to the strict guidelines and regulations in these countries.