PESHAWAR: Expressing grave concern over the spread of fake and spurious medicines, the pharmacists’ community at a seminar asked the government to immediately amend the 1967 Pharmacy Act and impose a life ban on Pharmacy Category B and C.

The seminar was organised by the Pharmacist Community and the United Pharmacist Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in connection with the World Pharmacy Day, here at the Peshawar Pres Club on Sunday.

The speakers were senior pharmacists and the former president of the Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA) KP chapter, Israf Gul, Javed, President PPA KP, Mushtaq Chudhri, Central Member PPA, Professor Dr Niaz Ali, Dr Nazir Ahmad, the General Secretary UPA and Rafiq Ahmad.

Israf Gul said that the pharmacists’ services could not be ignored because a doctor prescribed to the patients while the pharmacists point out the effect and side effects of the medicines. Similarly, he said that a qualified pharmacist was thoroughly aware of the right use and misuse of medicine.

Nazir Ahmad expressed deep concerns and said that medical stores in the small as well as the big cities of Pakistan were being operated by matric passed or failed candidates even and they did not know that at what temperatures (Celsius) the medicines should be kept.

However, he said that in public hospitals store keepers and paramedics dealt with several medicines without knowing the medicines’ prescription and their storage.

He demanded of the government to allow the category-A pharmacist for operating medical stores in the tehsil municipal administration while a category-B pharmacist should be confined to village levels.

Javed said that they had met with the KP health minister last year to approve the professional allowances for pharmacists but despite the lapse of one year the summary had not yet been approved. He also demanded of the KP government to appoint a drug inspector at tehsil levels aimed at stopping the business of fake medicines.

Dr Niaz Ali said that it was the need of the hour to introduce reforms in the curriculum and syllabi of pharmacists adding that with the reforms more than 50 per cent issues of the pharmacists would be automatically resolved. He demanded of the Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman to ensure a qualified pharmacist for 50 beds at all the hospitals.

He also asked the KP government to bring amendments in the 1982 KP drug rules and impose restrictions on issuance distribution and wholesale licences to the category C pharmacist.

Similarly, he demanded of the government to appoint a drug inspector at tehsil levels for halting the sub-standard, unregistered and expired medicines.

Dr Muhammad Ishaq, while differentiating among the category A, B and C pharmacists, said that A category pharmacists were five-year degree holders while the category B and C having other certificates along with the dispensers did not know anything regarding the medicines used and prescribed to the patients.

He also demanded of the government to provide professional allowances to the qualified pharmacists as was provided to as well as to drug inspectors serving in government hospitals.