Chemists demand ban on online medicine sales after FDA bars sale of loose spices

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the sale of loose spices. Now a demand to stop online sales of medicines has come up. The demand, made by a chemists' association, is being widely discussed. The association says people's health is being played with. All eyes are now on what FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe will decide.

The FDA has issued new rules on loose spices and has ordered strict action if colour is added to spices. Mundhe had banned the sale of loose spices only a day earlier. The association is now watching whether he will also ban online sales of medicines.

The demand for a ban on online medicine sales in the state is gathering strength. The Pimpri Chinchwad Chemist Association has alleged that medicines are being sold without a doctor's prescription. Its office-bearers have demanded strict control over online medicine sales. This suggests they want the sales stopped altogether and, for as long as they continue, kept under strict control.

They say many dangerous medicines are sold online. There is a rule that certain medicines must be sold only on a doctor's prescription, yet it is alleged that these are being sold openly. They have also made the serious allegation that Mundhe is ignoring the matter.

Citing fake prescriptions, misuse of medicines and the risk to people's health, the association's office-bearers have demanded that Food and Drug Commissioner Mundhe take immediate action. They believe all three pose a danger to public health.

Some months ago, chemists called a nationwide shutdown against online medicine sales. The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists had announced the nationwide strike against online medicine sales and what it called unfair competition from corporate companies. The chemists' association has now once again demanded a stop to online medicine sales. All eyes are on what Commissioner Mundhe decides on this demand.