The Kerala Private Pharmacists Association (KPPA) has demanded the Kerala government to ban all the advertisements being sponsored by certain drug manufacturing companies to promote their products claiming best remedies for chronic diseases.

The KPPA has passed a resolution in this regard at its 24th state conference and handed over the copy to the government for immediate consideration. While hailing the actions taken by the drugs control department against some manufacturing companies for violating the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, the association has felt that the companies are escaping from all cases related to publicity by giving a meagre amount as fine. So many products are being sold by giving fake advertisements in the media, which is a kind of exploitation or fraud, said T Satheesan, secretary of KPPA.

The three drugs Acts, the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, Indian Pharmacy Act, and Drugs & Magic Remedies Act, stipulate only a qualified pharmacist must dispense the drug, but today, so many retail outlets are doing business without a pharmacist. The association has decided to fight against this malpractice, the resolution said.

In another resolution the pharmacists have urged the government to implement immediately the order of Kerala High Court demanding all private hospitals to get drug licences for their pharmacies. KPPA has wanted that qualified pharmacists should be appointed in all these pharmacies, and with regard to this demand the association will soon approach the association of private hospitals, said Satheesan.

In the upcoming Neethi and Maveli Medical Stores run by government agencies, the state conference of KPPA demanded that the number of vacancies of pharmacists in these stores should be appointed through public service commission. Likewise, measures should be taken to appoint pharmacists for dispensing medicines in the Pain & Palliative care units of Kerala. More than five hundred such centres are working in different parts of Kerala, which are patronized by village Panchayaths and societies.

The association has also demanded to assign qualified pharmacists to dispense the drugs and other health products distributed to the village people through National Rural Health Mission programmes.

V Rajendra Babu, mayor of Kollam, inaugurated the conference. There was a discussion on ‘Global Warming and Health issues’ in the seminar. Dr George D’Cruz, retired professor of chemistry from Fatima Mata National College, Kollam presented the paper for the discussion.

The conference has elected TP Rajivan as the new president of the association and Ajith Kumar as the general secretary.

KR Dinesh Kumar is the new Treasurer. CV Baby (Thrissur), PP Anil Kumar (Kannur), are the two vice-presidents, and T Satheesan (Kozhikodu), S Mini (Thiruvananthapuram) and Prakkulam Suresh (Kollam) are the secretaries.