61% in India prefer buying drugs online

 07-Jul-16, The Economic Times

Around 61 per cent of people in India prefer to buy medicines online, a survey has showed, highlighting a major change in consumer trend, even as the battle between offline and online chemists has intensified. Over 800,000 lakh chemists recently threatened to go on indefinite strike if the government failed to regulate online sales.

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The survey, conducted by Consumer Online Foundation and market research firm BRIEF (Bureau of Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals), also showed that 50 per cent of people admitted buying medicines from a chemist without prescription and 36 per cent had never received any bill.

The foundation said the government needed to tighten regulation for not only online sales but also at brick and mortar stores. "A new law should be brought to replace the archaic Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and it should focus on the patients' safety and accessibility to quality healthcare," Consumer Online Foundation founder Bejon Misra said. 

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 Elsevier APAC Healthcare Update