Response to Medias for Selling OTC Drugs Polls in Convenience Stores

Date of Pharmacist Weekly: 101.0402-0408

No.: No.1763

Source: http://www.taiwan-pharma.org.tw/weekly/1763/

Translator: Liu Tingyi

Date of Translation: 04252012

Content:

In response to the Media published “convenience stores sell OTC drugs polls”

TPIP declared that the medicine isn’t equal to the general merchandise and they are insistently opposed to opening up the sale of OTC drugs at convenience stores.

In accordance with the manufacturer has continually printed in a great lengths of advertisement about “to drive “self-treatment”, cohere consensus in the domestic, and there are almost eighty percent people hope to buy OTC drugs at convenience stores” in Print Media by publishing a poll since March 22, which intended to use “data” to misguide the public, that completely wiped the Pharmacist profession and also ignored the drug use safety for human.

TPIP and 24 local Pharmacists’ Associations made a statement that “medicine is not the general merchandise” and they will firmly opposed to opening up the sale of OTC drugs at convenience stores based on the drug use safety for the public. If the manufacturer intended to use the designed poll data to mislead the public to achieve their goal of opening up the business, TPIP will lead all Pharmacists to disclose manufacturer’s purpose of the profit with might and main, and TPIP will make every effort to protect the drug use safety for human and the profession of Pharmacist.

Based on the published by relevant Media Groups of the poll about selling OTC drugs at convenience stores, after understanding the publication by TPIP, the series of reports were advertisement which published by the manufacturer. TPIP had published the article in opposition on the Media as soon as possible, and because it was played the same old tune, Lee Shu-Ping, the president of TPIP, asked Pharmacists to make sure do not follow any responses to launch their publicity.

Lee Shu-Ping inquired Kang Jaw-Jou, the director of TFDA, about whether “the position of competent authority is loosed” for “opening up the sale of OTC drugs at convenience stores” at the first time. Kang Jaw-Jow emphasized that “No such thing”! And director Kang repeated that they had published three times of dispatch that they do not plan to open up the sale of OTC drugs at convenience stores, neither do they set any schedule, and their position is the same as TPIP that they are firmly opposed to opening up the sale of OTC drugs at convenience stores. Department of Health is very worried about the safety issue on opening up convenience stores to sell the OTC drugs.

Lee Shu-Ping encourages Pharmacists to say to all Media Groups, and provide the powerful professional data to “let the numbers speak”. Pharmacists will guard the drug use safety for human, and before convenience stores do not hire the qualified Pharmacists to execute the business, Pharmacists will firmly stand their position to oppose to opening up the sale of OTC drugs at convenience stores and will not step aside.