Dubai: The owners of two pharmacies and the pharmacists on duty dispensing unlicensed drugs such as aphrodisiacs and abortion pills in the northern emirates have been referred to the public prosecution following a raid conducted by the Ministry of Health on May 18, after a regular pharmacy inspection by a Ministry of Health inspector discovered serious violations of the Federal Law pertaining to pharmacy and pharmacists’ regulations.
Providing information about the incident, Dr Ameen Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for public health policy and licence sector in the Ministry of Health, said action was taken because the two pharmacies were found guilty of several violations that included dispensing drugs on fake prescriptions, absence of licensed pharmacists and assistants during official working hours, issuing controlled drugs on photocopied prescriptions several times to the same person and without asking for a copy of the Emirates ID that is stipulated by federal law.
Besides this, the pharmacies were also selling expired medicines and many drugs that required to be refrigerated were not being stored in controlled temperatures. There was a lack of hygiene and presence of dust that left the drugs vulnerable to contamination.
The drugs being sold were Sildenafil 100mg, a sexual-enhancement drug that is not registered with the Ministry of Health; Loperamid, a drug that induces diarrhoea to reduce the side effects of abortion medication; and Cytotec (Misoprostol 20mg), an abortion-inducing medication.
Besides these there were many other drugs that were found not up to the specifications laid down by the Ministry of Health. Upon investigation the pharmacist revealed that he was selling many free medical samples that he had obtained from Syria and Germany
Dr Amiri also added that the patients who were buying these drugs on fake prescriptions were referred to the public prosecution.
He cautioned that it was the duty of every responsible citizen and UAE resident to be vigilant and report such violations to the Ministry of Health in the interest of public health.
