Maharashtra Minister of State for Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) Rajendra Yadravkar has said he has ordered his department's officials to crackdown on chemists selling medicines without a prescription from a doctor.
Talking to PTI, he said, "The orders were given yesterday in Aurangabad after I received a complaint about the sale of drugs from a local pharmacist without a formal prescription from a doctor. Such practices are against the law and should be banned." "I have asked FDA officials to carry out searches and cross-verification of sale of drugs from pharmacies in the state. The FDA will also prod drug sellers to demand prescription before selling medicines," he said.
There have been some cases where scheduled drugs, which are not easily available and are allowed to be purchased only if prescribed by a physician, were sold across the counter at pharmacies, the minister said.
"No pharmacist was demanding a prescription for such drugs. It was shocking and serious as well," the minister said.
Yadravkar said he has sought a primary report in the next 8 days from FDA officials on action taken to curb the practice of selling drugs without prescription.
"It will give us some idea about ground reality on sale of drugs. During the 2021-22 fiscal, FDA officials had collected Rs 5.50 crore as fine (for violation of different norms)," he said.
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