Chemists and Druggists Urge BJP to Include Banning of E-Pharmacies in Its Manifesto

General secretary of the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists Rajiv Singhal told ETV Bharat that the BJP should announce bringing regulations over deep discounts offered by e-Pharmacies in its manifesto. The organisation has earlier submitted a memorandum to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya highlighting their concerns.

New Delhi: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its 27-member Election Manifesto Committee on Saturday, the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) appealed to BJP national president JP Nadda to announce the banning of e-Pharmacies besides bringing regulations over deep discount.

“We hope that BJP will include the critical points we have highlighted, in their election manifesto,” said AIOCD general secretary Rajiv Singhal while speaking to ETV Bharat. AIOCD is an association of 12.40 lakh chemists and druggists working across the country, including 1.8 lakh wholesalers and 10.6 lakh retailers.

“We have 65 lakh family members, 65 lakh subordinates, along with their extended families, totalling over five crore individuals. Despite our commitment to adhere to the government guidelines and ensuring the availability of medicines at National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) determined rates, we face formidable challenges in the form of e-Pharmacies, unregulated discounts and other issues,” said Singhal.

He said that the online medicine business poses a serious threat to public health, serving as a gateway for counterfeit medications in the country. “Earlier, we submitted a detailed memorandum to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya highlighting our concerns. In the interest of public health and to protect the younger generation from drug abuse, the Government of India should ban e-Pharmacies nationwide,” said Singhal.

He said that placing discount boards or advertising discounts in a price-controlled commodity like drugs and medicines where doses or quantities are strictly regulated by prescription, goes against the ethical standards of the pharmacy profession. We will aim to prohibit such practices to uphold professional ethics and standards, said Singhal. “We will legally prohibit predatory pricing policy employed by corporate entities whether through online platforms or chain stores, to prevent monopolistic practices that undermine small retailers and exploit consumers,” Singhal said.