The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists has announced that 12.40 lakh chemists will go on a nationwide strike on 20 May 2026. This disruption is expected to impact millions of patients who depend on medication for various ailments.
It is not clear though, whether retail chains such as Apollo Pharmacy, MedPlus, etc. are also part of this strike.
The key reason for this strike is to bring attention and highlight the safety risks associated with online sales of medicines.
Players such as TATA 1MG, PharmEasy among others deliver medicines at doorsteps, based on digital prescriptions which are uploaded on their apps and portals.
However, offline Chemists complain that in several cases, fake prescriptions are created using Artificial Intelligence, which could lead to sale of habit forming drugs and unregulated, long usage of certain medicines.
Editor’s Note
The issue of unregulated sales of medicines in India is not new. Over the last decades, we have seen neighbourhood chemists sell critical drugs to “known customers” without a prescription.
For regular medication such as hypertension, diabetes, etc., the chemists relied on their personal rapport with the patients (read: customers) and hence handed over the medicines even without latest prescriptions.
The issue bloated during Covid-19 lockdowns, when several people affected with the virus started consuming generic drugs such as Crocin, Dolo-650 and cough syrups to overcome the illness without proper diagnosis.
This led to an increase in health complications due to comorbities and existing diseases, which led to a further decline in their health.
Doctors and Chemists came together at the time and agreed that medicines for critical illnesses and other specified drugs shall be sold only with prescriptions which are no more than 90 days.
However, several online platforms as well as offline Pharmacies have been seen selling such drugs without regulation.
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