New Delhi:TheAll India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has demanded the Union Health Ministry to launch a massive crackdown on the large-scale online racket of fake drugs and ghost physicians. Talking to ETV Bharat, AIOCD’s general secretary Rajiv Singhal said the racket is running in most of the metros and towns in India.
“Heavy discounts offered by online players to push out small pharmacies from business, are adopting unethical, illegal ways and means like selling duplicate or fake drugs. States across the country have a very weak regulatory network. Cross-border sale of drugs on the internet has become a green field to culprits under the pretext of convenience,” said Singhal.
He said that developed and highly regulated countries have cautiously prohibited the sale of drugs on the internet after witnessing mishaps, in spite of stringent legal penalties. “Public health care is regarded as top priority over the convenience of online buying,” he said. Recently, a special task force in Uttarakhand seized fake drugs and medicine worth crores of rupees which were supposed to be sold online. “There should be a strong regulation in online selling of drugs,” said Singhal.
He claimed that the online sale of medicine is taking place while disregarding the provisions of law and is rampantly carried out by some big corporate houses under the nose of state regulators. Almost two years back, raids conducted in Rajasthan also unearthed a huge racket where fake drugs were seized.