Missing law enforcement : Unregulated drug sales imperil lives

Illegal pharmacies, uncertified dispensers working with impunity

LAHORE:

As the meagerness of the public healthcare system continues, the citywide operation of unlicensed drug stores in the heart of Punjab places the lives of citizens on thin ice.

While the paucity of basic health services has already reduced the quality of life of the average citizen, the unregulated sale of drugs by unregistered pharmacies and poorly trained chemists, who disregard both the qualifying credentials and standard preservation requirements necessary for the storage and sale of medications, has brought the treatment prospects of patients down in flames.

“I regularly require fixed doses of blood thinners and beta blockers. However, most of the pharmacies that I frequent either make errors in determining the correct dosage of my medicines or store the medicines in unsuitable conditions, thereby reducing the efficacy of my treatment,” complained Zaman Khan, who suffers from a cardiac ailment.

As per sources privy to the matter, despite the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) clearly mandating the maintenance of optimal environmental conditions for the proper storage of medications, a large number of pharmacies keep drugs at substandard temperatures which denatures their molecules, thereby diminishing their potency.

Apart from the wide unavailability of temperature-controlled medicine storage cabinets, many drug stores also have unqualified personnel selling medications to patients, despite the law requiring the possession of a five-year degree by a pharmacist, and a two-year degree by medical store staff.

Similar to their differing qualifying credentials, medical stores and pharmacies also hold different licences which specify the category of drugs that each may sell. Where medical stores are expected to limit their products to over the counter (OTC) drugs like analgesics and antipyretics, pharmacies have the rights to sell specific ailment targeting drugs, which are only to be made available if the patient holds a prescription from a verified physician.

However, sources reveal various medical stores illegally supply 145 different kinds of pharmacy reserved drugs, including steroids, cancer pills, high-potency antibiotics, antivirals and narcotics, to patients who do not even present a doctor’s prescription.

As Fazal Mehmood, a local, confirmed, “I have seen substance users purchasing prescription medications like morphine and narcotic shots easily from pharmacies. Nobody from the staff even bothers asking them for a doctor’s prescription.”

In addition to selling medicines without prescription, multiple drug stores are also reportedly running their businesses by selling counterfeit medications which are of a highly inferior quality and are rarely effective. To curb a similar prevalence of counterfeit medications during the late 2000s, the Punjab Health Department had introduced the licensing system, which mandated all drug stores to officially register while penalising those who continued functioning without a licence.

Unfortunately, the licensing system has been largely unsuccessful in regulating the sale of medication in the province, believed to be home to the highest number of pharmacies in the country. Despite the designation of 154 drug inspectors and 6 drug courts specifically for the regulation of pharmacy laws, corruption in the ranks prevents serious action being taken against the lawbreakers.

In his response to the criticism pitted against the drug control officers, Director General of the Provincial Drug Control Unit Punjab, Muhammad Sohail highlighted the progress made by the drug inspectors in terms of the reasonable number of unlicensed drug stores that were caught and reported.

“While I agree that the pervasive problem of illegal drug sales is alarming, I also believe that the Drug Control Unit is working to the best of its abilities to curb the operation of unlicensed stores in a province as big as Punjab,” remarked Sohail while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2023.