The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), a prominent association representing the interests of chemists and druggists in India, has called for a nationwide 24-hour strike from May 20 to May 21 to express grievances that are affecting the pharmaceutical and retail medicine sectors in the country.

The organisation claims to represent approximately 12.4 lakh chemists, with a substantial portion of the community involved in the sale and distribution of medicines.

Here are the reasons why the pharmacists across India has gone for an all-out strike:

Why are pharmacies on strike?

1. Regulatory Concerns

Changes in regulations governing the sale of medicines, including licensing requirements and pricing controls, have caused an uproar. Two of the government’s recent regulations are GSR 220(E) and GSR 817E, introduced on March 26, 2020, and August 20, 2018, concerning e-pharmacy or the online sale of medicines.

Since the pharmaceutical business relies on obtaining a doctor’s prescription for the medications they provide, this decision was widely opposed by the community. With online pharmacies, individuals can order any medication, including controlled substances and antibiotics, without the necessary safeguards, also posing a risk of counterfeit prescriptions being used.

The government’s regulations on online pharmacies are neither notified nor withdrawn. This grey area allows them to function, while the physical pharmacies have to undergo numerous regulations.

During COVID-19 pandemic, government allowed home-delivery of medicines. The association argues the online pharmacies are exploiting this feature and it must be reviewed since the pandemic times are over.

2. Pricing Issues

The organisation has expressed concerns about the substantial discounts being provided by online medicine platforms. Their demands include that discounts should either be discontinued or the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) should be revised to enable offline chemists to have higher profit margins to allow them to offer competitive discounts to consumers as well.

What’s open and what’s closed?

All major pharmacy chains, hospital-based medical stores, Jan Aushadhi Kendras and AMRIT pharmacy outlets across the country will remain open on May 20, PTI reported.

Medical shops attached to hospitals would remain open during the bandh and emergency medicine services would not be disrupted, AIOCD president and former MLC Jagannath Shinde has said.

This is in addition to several State-level pharmacy associations which have already opted out of the proposed nationwide strike, the sources told PTI.

Retail pharmacy associations from West Bengal, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Ladakh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand have voluntarily submitted written assurances that they will not participate in the strike and have committed to ensuring there will be no disruption in the availability of medicines to the public on the proposed day of protest.