Delhi Govt Warns of Strict Action Against Chemists Found Selling Antibiotics Without Prescription – News18

In a move to curb the misuse of antibiotics, the Delhi government has warned all chemists that stern action will be taken if they are found dispensing medicines without a prescription.

Reiterating the appeal issued by the Union government this year, the Drugs Control Department of Delhi government — which regulates the manufacture of drugs and cosmetics and sale of drugs — issued an advisory on March 8 to “curb antimicrobial resistance.”

“The regulatory systems, both at Centre and State levels, are aware of the challenges posed by antimicrobial resistance and are continuously taking regulatory steps to curb and control indiscriminate use of antibiotics,” said the advisory issued by KR Chawla, deputy drug controller and head of the office. The advisory has been sent to the president of the All Chemists Association of Delhi.

The advisory acknowledged that antimicrobial resistance is “a serious and growing threat to public health”.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), antimicrobial resistance happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.

AMR puts many of the gains of modern medicine at risk. It makes infections harder to treat and makes other medical procedures and treatments — such as surgery, caesarean sections and cancer chemotherapy — much riskier.

Advisory Issued

The advisory by the Delhi government said that it is “highly concerned” about the increasing incidences of antimicrobial drug resistance due to the “indiscriminate use of antimicrobials by the general public”.

The advisory said most antimicrobials are covered in Schedule H and HI prescription drugs and can only be sold following the prescription of registered medical practitioners.

“In view of this, you are requested to bring the contents of this advisory to the knowledge of your members and other chemists to contribute towards containment of antimicrobial resistance and not to indulge in the sale of antimicrobials except in accordance with the prescription of RMP,” said the advisory while warning that “any deviation from the regulatory provisions would be viewed seriously and stern action in consonance with law would be taken against the offenders”.

In January, the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, had appealed to all the pharmacists in the country to strictly implement Schedule H and HI of the drug rules and stop over-the-counter sale of antibiotics and sell them only on the prescription of a qualified doctor, to tackle the issue of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

Following the advisory, the Union government has made it mandatory for doctors to write ‘exact indications’ while prescribing these drugs. In the context of prescriptions, “exact indications” refer to specific and accurate reasons or medical conditions for which antibiotics or antimicrobial drugs are being prescribed.

According to Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of India’s largest lobby with over 12.40 lakh offline chemists, All India Chemist and Druggist Association (AIOCD), “the lobby is always against the threat of AMR and supports this move”.

“We insist our members sell Schedule H1 drugs only on the prescription of qualified doctors,” he said.

Rajiv Tyagi, secretary of Retail Distribution Chemist Alliance (RDCA), told News18 that the Delhi-based association has sent the advisories on their WhatsApp groups which are connected with its 12,500 retailer members. “However, I would like to inform you that we were following this protocol earlier itself and we are together in this fight against AMR.”

According to WHO, AMR is one of the top global public health and development threats. It is estimated that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 12.7 lakh global deaths in 2019.