Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) is up in arms against online pharmacies and has appealed to the government to ban them on the grounds that they are violating norms and thereby risking the lives of the people.
The association also cited that the Gujarat High Court has issued notices to Central and State Governments and e-pharmacies following a petition that alleged that the process of consulting doctors by customers through e-pharmacies is full of loopholes and prescriptions are generated by doctors employed by the e-pharmacies without due diligence.
AIOCD general secretary Rajiv Singhal said that during such online consultation which is very limited, the identity of the doctor is not known and they do not see any medical reports before issuing a prescription. This affects the health of the citizens directly.
“The websites selling the drugs and prescription medicines do not have licence as required under Section 18 of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 read with Rule 61 and 62 of the Drugs Rules, 1945. It is shocking that in the online pharmacies, certain scheduled drugs are dispensed without any prescription, which can be ordered by those below 18 years and which would be injurious to their health,” Singhal alleged.
The AIOCD office bearers also added that the National Medical Commissioner must also take action against these doctors who provide prescriptions which are not genuine.
He added that despite the honourable Delhi High Court injecting the sale of medicines online without licence, online pharmacies still continue to mushroom and prosper with the backing of corporate funding and support from the government, leading to severe ill effects on the health of our citizens. Till date, no licence has been prescribed to sell medicines online and all online pharmacies are operating illegally.
“Government must stop this unlawful activity and abuse of the law by the e-Pharmacies for the sake of the health of our citizens,” Singhal added.
