IPA has written a letter to the Drugs Controller General of India for not allowing online pharmacy in India keeping in view large public interest
In the representation, Bhupendra Kumar, General Secretary, IPA requested the Drug Controller of the CDSCO to not to allow online pharmacy because online pharmacy will violate the various acts like Pharmacy Act, Drugs & Cosmetic Act and Violation of Human Rights.
According to Pharmacy Act (An Act to regulate the profession of Pharmacy), “No person other than a registered pharmacist shall dispense any medicine on the prescription of a medical practitioner and whoever contravenes these provisions shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months.
There is already scarcity of jobs for pharmacists and online pharmacies will further worsen the condition.
Apart from violation of various acts and norms there is possibility that fake, misbranded, adulterated, counterfeit medicines will be sold through online pharmacies. Online pharmacies will promote drug abuse, drug misuse, self medication etc. Self medication result in development of resistance to medicines. Recently Drugs & Cosmetic Act was amended to incorporate Schedule H1 keeping in view Drug Resistance because of easily availability of those medicines which are now included in Schedule H1. Allowing online pharmacy will result in mushrooming of illegal online pharmacies and violation of Schedule H1.
United States (US) is the developed country having best resources available to them but US still struggling with the issue of fake online pharmacies. In an advisory to US citizens, US FDA on their official website stated that there are many websites that operate legally and offer convenience, privacy, and safeguards for purchasing medicines, but there are also many “rogue websites” that offer to sell potentially dangerous drugs that have not been checked for safety or effectiveness. Though a rogue site may look professional and legitimate, it could actually be an illegal operation. These rogue sites often sell unapproved drugs, drugs that contain the wrong active ingredient, drugs that may contain too much or too little of the active ingredient, or drugs that contain dangerous ingredients.
A few years ago, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), the professional organisation that represents the state boards of pharmacy (or equivalent state agencies) that are responsible for licensing pharmacies said it “reviewed more than 8,000 [websites] and found 96 percent” led to fake pharmacies. Many fake drugs contain too little, too much, or the wrong medicine, and may contain dangerous ingredients such as rat poison. Counterfeiters are selling fakes of many kinds of drugs, including pills claimed to treat heart disease, arthritis, asthma, AIDS, and cancer. Many fake drugs are made to look like the real medication – it can be very difficult to tell them apart.
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