Pharmacy strike

Protests by chemists in Punjab are continuing over the provincial government’s decision to amend the Drug Regulatory Authority Act, 1976 but the protesters are unable to justify the hardship caused to the public by shuttering pharmacies. Chemists have complained about one particular amendment, which would impose a fine of Rs25-50 million and a jail sentence of up to ten years in prison on the manufacturer, importer or seller of spurious, adulterated or unregistered drugs. They claim that this amendment to the law will target them even though they may have purchased the drugs unknowingly. This complaint is without merit since the Punjab government has clarified that it will only punish chemists if they sell expired drugs or if it is established that they did not store the medication properly. The strike, it seems, is an entirely self-serving one. Pharmacists want to continue minting money by selling spurious and adulterated drugs without being subject to any kind of regulation. Back in 2010, the government had estimated that nearly half of the drugs sold in the country were fake or substandard. The continued sale of such drugs will cost thousands of lives. That is not an acceptable price to pay just so that manufacturers and pharmacies can continue to line their pockets.

One worry the chemists have is that the definition of spurious drugs could be used to crackdown on the lucrative business of selling homeopathic drugs and herbal medication. This, too, would be a long overdue step. Homeopathic drugs are at best ineffective and at worst dangerous. The high demand for them has led to them being tolerated but pharmacies should not be selling any drug that has not been rigorously tested and proven to have the claimed benefits. Since all drug stores are required to have a trained pharmacist on the premises, they cannot plead ignorance about the dangers of homeopathic medication. But the pharmacies do not look like they will be giving up without a fight. The Wholesale Chemist Council of Pakistan shut down its wholesale medicine market and took out protests in solidarity with the chemists in Lahore. This, too, is meant to pressurise the Punjab government to fall in line with the demands of the pharmacy lobby. The Punjab police have been forcibly opening pharmacies in Lahore since the strike is causing grave hardship to so many patients. The pharmacies may have a right to strike but that does not mean they are right in this case. Regulation of drugs is long over-due and the amendment to the law is only a small step in finally ensuring we can trust the medication we take.