As fast growing e-pharmacies eat into the incomes of lakhs of small chemist outlets, nearly 850,000 of them will remain shut on 14 October to protest against the online sale of drugs. The one-day nationwide strike called by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) comes after a government panel started its work on framing regulations for the online pharmacies. Retail chemists say that e-pharmacies will “challenge their businesses” and result in abuse of medicines. They also contend that it will be “easier” to purchase medicines online many times with a single prescription. “Our children are savvy to social media. If they put one prescription online, they will take a picture and send it to other companies to get medicines,” Reuters quoted AIOCD president JS Shinde as saying.

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