The standoff continues between supporters of the end of the pharmacy monopoly on the sale of non-prescription drugs and their fierce opponents. Among these, the Minister of Health who recalls her firm opposition to the opening of the market demanded by the herald of mass distribution Michel Edouard Leclerc or the Competition Authority. The minister’s speech has not changed and she reaffirms it: “Medicines have a price fixed by negotiation with the State, with my services. What is important is to guarantee the safety of medicines and so that the French consume less drugs. I am not in favor of an evolution of this type “.
But pharmacists’ unions remain cautious about the position of the minister who does not commit the whole government according to them: “The arrival of a new Minister of the Economy – Emmanuel Macron – who retains part of the previous cabinet, the government’s decision to go very quickly, confirms that none of the leads against pharmacies are excluded from the future bill, “points out the Union of Unions of Pharmacists of Officine (USPO).
USPO refers to the Regulated Professions Bill. A highly contested text which aims to liberalize 37 regulated professions to stimulate growth. Pharmacists could be one of them. In a report published at the end of last July, the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) ruled within the framework of this bill for the end of the dispensing monopoly on the sale of certain drugs. Among the drugs that deserve to be liberalized, the IGF cited Doliprane or Spasfon, and the sale of non-reimbursable drugs, such as Nurofen, Humex or Fervex.
How would you like to buy the non-prescription drugs at the supermarket? Say it on the forum.
