Banning the sale of drugs online: For the safety of the people

On June 19, SGGP Newspaper published an article: “Selling drugs online - many consequences” by National Assembly delegate Pham Khanh Phong Lan, disagreeing with the proposal to sell drugs via social networks; it should be considered when the legal framework has been completed and must be organized within a safe framework. After the article was published, many experts, doctors, people... shared the same views on this issue.

People buy medicine at a store in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City

Mr. NGUYEN THANH LAM Deputy Director of the Department of Drug Administration ( Ministry of Health ):

Need to manage closely, have sanctions

Medicines are special products that directly affect people's health and should be strictly managed by the Ministry of Health. However, in recent times, the situation of livestreaming, widespread advertising, and selling medicine on social networks has been very complicated, causing harm to consumers, although this is a common trend when technology and e-commerce are increasingly developing. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly manage and have sanctions for livestreaming, advertising, and trading medicine on social networks. The draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Pharmacy Law will amend 44/116 articles of the current Pharmacy Law. In which, there are specific and stricter regulations related to the trading of medicine, which is very necessary, to regulate problems that have arisen in practice, and more importantly, to protect the health and lives of people as well as the rights and economy of consumers.

Pharmacist NGUYEN XUAN LOC Phat Loc Pharmaceutical Company:

Difficult to implement without specific legal regulations

It is very necessary for the Government and the Ministry of Health to amend the 2016 Pharmacy Law, including the proposal to not allow individuals to trade and sell drugs via social networks. This not only protects patients and consumers but also makes the pharmaceutical market healthier, creating fair and equal competition. In fact, with the development of the e-commerce system and the habit of buying drugs online, many pharmaceutical companies have the full capacity and technology to be able to trade drugs directly via social networks, but we do not have specific legal regulations on this, so it is difficult to implement. Meanwhile, many individuals and small businesses are willing to violate the law just for the purpose of profit, regardless of the dangers to the health and lives of patients due to unsafe drug use.

National Assembly Delegate NGUYEN LAN HIEU, Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital:

Clearly define the responsibilities of the Ministry of Health

Personally, there is not a day that I do not receive calls from people asking: "Is this medicine advertised by you, do you use it that people use your image to sell it online so much?" Therefore, in my opinion, in managing advertising for pharmaceutical products, it is necessary to clearly define the responsibilities of the Ministry of Health. The draft Law on Pharmacy (amended) should clearly state: The Ministry of Health is responsible for detecting and handling fake drug advertisements on social networks, providing information to the investigating authorities and informing people on the websites and apps of the Ministry of Health to prevent and not let people use these drugs. This is a prominent issue and we need to include it in the law to avoid the situation of selling many drugs of unknown origin on social networks.

People buy medicine at a pharmacy in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City

Mr. DO DINH TUNG, Deputy Director of Saint Paul General Hospital, Hanoi:

Many potential risks

During the examination of patients, we have discovered many cases of patients using drugs without prescription, buying drugs on social networks without permission, causing great harm to health. There are cases of patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure, kidney failure just because of using drugs bought on social networks. Medicines are special products, so they need to be strictly regulated in terms of production, distribution and trading. Buying and selling drugs on social networks will have many potential risks, uncontrolled origin, dosage, uses, usage and contraindications, so it can directly affect patients, causing complications with unpredictable consequences.

Mr. NGUYEN VAN NAM residing in Thoi An ward, district 12, HCMC:

Become a victim of fake, poor quality drugs

Recently, I was scammed out of more than 3 million VND for buying lipid metabolism disorder medicine online. The product was beautifully packaged and delivered to my home with instructions for use, promising to return blood fat to a safe level after 1 week of use. After a month of using the medicine, the blood fat index did not decrease, but it was followed by many symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, fatigue... When I asked, the seller said it was because my body had not yet adapted to the medicine, and I needed to use the product for a while longer to see clear results. After talking, I saw that the seller did not understand the medicine well, so I did not continue to buy.

MINH NAM - MINH KHANG recorded

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cam-ban-thuoc-qua-mang-vi-su-an-toan-cua-nguoi-dan-post745719.html