Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 3: Addressing an issue rampant across Kashmir, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) in Anantnag has directed chemists in the district and the Drug Control Department to ensure the availability of medicines in split quantities.
In an order issued in response to a pre-litigation application, the DLSA emphasized that refusing to sell medicines in smaller quantities to those unable to afford an entire strip amounts to denying them essential treatment.
The concerns raised in the application, the DLSA noted, present a grave scenario where a person could be “denied treatment” or life saving medicine simply “because they cannot afford an entire strip”, especially if the full strip is not required for their condition.
DLSA termed it a serious and sensitive issue that, it said, requires intervention.
The applicant sought intervention, requesting directions for the implementation of prescribed guidelines governing the matter.
“This forum received an application alleging that a chemist operating within District Anantnag was found refusing to sell medicine strips in loose/split quantities,” the DLSA stated.
During further proceedings, the DLSA said that the applicant was heard, a detailed reply was submitted, and the concerned chemist was also given an opportunity to present the facts of the case.
The DLSA emphasized that drug licensing and distribution are regulated by the proper authority, with enforcement officers monitoring the operations of chemists and the sale and purchase of drugs.
“The applicant… pointed out various provisions of the Act and governing circulars, which mandate that every chemist operating within District Anantnag and across J&K must adhere to the Act, rules, and guidelines framed there under.”
According to the DLSA, one relevant notification from the Drug Control Department, numbered 13855/20 and dated 25-02-2021, directs all chemists to ensure compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and its associated rules.
It state, “No manufacturer or distributor shall withhold from sale or refuse to sell to a dealer any drug without good and sufficient reason. No dealer shall withhold from sale or refuse to sell any drug available with them to a customer intending to purchase such a drug.”
The DLSA stressed that these guidelines and instructions must be followed in letter and spirit to prevent harm to the healthcare sector and to ensure that no individual is deprived of treatment due to the arbitrary actions of any chemist.
“Such arbitrary actions can best be regulated by displaying the mandatory Helpline No. 104 (Toll-Free) in every chemist shop and ensuring that drugs are sold only as per the prescription of a registered medical practitioner or doctor,” DLSA said.
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