"We have opposed the move of Central government towards regularising sale of medicines through internet i.E. E-pharmacy. We have called for a nationwide strike on November 23 to protect the health of the general public as well as the interest of our 8 lakh chemists and 80 lakh workers & their families," AIOCD president J S Shinde said in a statement.
He also said that various courts seem serious on the impact of online sales of medicine on public health, but the government authorities have not taken the issue seriously and seem to be ignorant on the issue related to public health.
We would like to draw the attention of public, government and concerned authorities towards various issues like sale of medicines on internet, which is totally illegal as per present provision of Drugs & Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945, increasing risk of adverse drug reaction (ADR), easy opening to entry of low quality, misbranded & spurious medicines, big threat of irrational use of medicines, big threat of drug addiction in youth due to easy availability of schedule & prescription medicine through internet, he said.
Internet online pharmacies are supplying all the prescription and schedule medicines like anti-depression, habit forming drugs, I-pill, MTP kits, codeine cough syrups without confirming the authenticity of prescription and the patient, who become victims of the illegal process, it added.