He National governmentby decree, allowed the sale of medicines outside of pharmacies. That is, kiosks, grocery stores or supermarkets could sell painkillers and antacids, among other “over-the-counter” drugs. The College of Pharmacists clarified what happens in Black river.
Originally, President Javier Milei’s decree allowed the sale of any type of medicine outside of pharmacies. However, there were legal claims in different provinces that limited this measure. The argument of the rulings is that the role of pharmacy professionals is “fundamental for the protection of the right to health in its collective dimension.”
The sale of over-the-counter medicines was common in the province a few years ago, until controls were intensified and it was reduced (almost) to zero, especially in large cities such as Cipolletti. There was even a latent controversy between merchants and pharmacists over the prohibition of selling painkillers or the popular effervescent antacids in any store, while many pharmacies added the sale of jewelry or leather goods.
He permission to sell medicines in any business It was based on free competition when a doctor’s prescription is not necessary. However, in Río Negro it does not apply. The president of the College of Pharmacists of Río Negro, Roberto Zgaib, said: “The legal framework in Río Negro protects citizens, because There is a provincial pharmacy law that allows sales only in authorized places.in pharmacies,” he said.
Medications increase
Drug sales fell due to price increases. Photo by Google.
Pointing out the issue, he reflected: “The so-called free sale does not mean that they are harmless. Many times they lower the dose of a product to make it free sale, but they don’t tell you anything if you take two pills, if you take it in indiscriminately. And, for example, a painkiller can even cause kidney problems, if used incorrectly.
“Apart from that, the correct storage in the different places. In the pharmacy it is guaranteed because they have the right temperature, they have to have the temperature guaranteed at 24 degrees so that the medications remain unchanged,” Zgaib explained to Radio Noticias.
At the time it was said that it was to open the game, more competition so that the values of these products did not grow. “They were not going to lower prices because of the type of consumption that there is, which is out of necessity.“Nobody walks through a full aisle and takes an ibuprofen. You take a certain drug if you need it,” he said.
The price of medicines
Zgaib said that “this consumption out of necessity” is the reason why “in the value of medicines, worldwide, the state always intervenes to establish certain regulations that guarantee drug prices without putting research at risk.
“It is a segment where necessity plays and not the desire to consume. “Tomorrow the price of gasoline goes up and you can decide not to go on vacation, but now when you need medicine, you need to take it. It’s out of necessity, and that means that even in the most liberal place in the world there is some intervention by the State to guarantee two things: access to medicine for the entire population and also to ensure that research for new developments is not hindered,” he explained.
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