Mysuru:  Even as Pharmacists held a nationwide demonstration in protest against online sale of medicines recently, a delegation of Mysuru City and District Retail Chemists Association met Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha and they together met Union Health Minister B. Harshavardhan and Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda and submitted a memorandum appealing the government to abolish online sale of medicines.

The memorandum said that online sale of medicine is not transparent and lacked professionalism. 

Maintaining that in online sale of medicines, the stipulated rules and regulations may be violated to a great extent, it said unhealthy competition and unethical practices may encourage the sale of duplicate medicines.

Further, the patients are deprived of counselling and may lead to the dominance of drug mafia. Pointing out that there were approximately 8 to 9 lakh retail dealers selling medicines for decades, the memorandum said that the workers and families who constitute nearly one crore population will be pushed to the streets. 

Also, online sale of medicine is against the noble intention of the Government and it may destabilise the social and economic framework of the country the memorandum explained.

After receiving the memorandum, the Ministers told the delegation that the interests and lives of lakhs of people involved in Pharma sales will  be protected.