Mumbai: Chemists in Maharashtra went on a three-day shutdown from today against what they called the “draconian” interpretation of the Drug & Cosmetics Act, 1940 by the Maharashtra Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
FDA's new rule states that patients would have to get new prescriptions every time they visit a chemist's shop to purchase regularly used medicines, to be taken for life time diseases like asthma, blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis.
The strike call has been given by Maharashtra State Chemists and Druggists Association.
Under the Maharashtra FDA, the law has to be followed even at the cost of the patient's life and this may drastically affect health care, chemists said.
Nearly 55,000 chemists have joined the shutdown from today.
The state government has threatened to invoke Maharashtra Essential Services and Maintenance Act (MESMA), 2011 against errant chemists and retailers, who are protesting.
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