What do National Assembly deputies say about the proposal to ban the sale of drugs via livestream?

According to the 2024 Law and Ordinance Development Program, the Draft Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Pharmacy will be submitted to the National Assembly at the 7th Session (May 2024) and is expected to be approved at the 8th Session (October 2024). The Ministry of Justice is reviewing the Draft Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Pharmacy.

The draft Law contains a content related to pharmaceutical business, specifically: "Established establishments that have been granted a certificate of eligibility for pharmaceutical business are allowed to conduct pharmaceutical business through e-commerce (e-commerce) through: Website, sales application installed on the establishment's electronic devices; electronic trading floors licensed by the industry and trade sector (not allowed to be conducted on social networking platforms, online livestream)".

In fact, nowadays, the form of selling medicine and functional foods on social networking platforms and livestreaming has become popular. This issue has also received many debates from consumers, in which the majority agree with the ban on selling medicine via social networking and livestreaming.

Dialogue - What do National Assembly deputies say about the proposal to ban the sale of drugs via livestream? — National Assembly member Pham Nhu Hiep said that the Ministry of Health 's proposal to ban the sale of drugs via livestream is correct (Photo: Quochoi.vn).

Regarding this proposal in the draft Law, in an exchange with Nguoi Dua Tin , National Assembly Deputy Pham Nhu Hiep - Director of Hue Central Hospital, a delegate of Thua Thien Hue delegation, said that according to the provisions of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, when a patient buys medicine, it must be with a prescription, pharmacies, even over-the-counter pharmacies, are under the management of the health sector, drugstores must comply with regulations, have a GMP system (good manufacturing practices - PV), when buying medicine, it must be with a doctor's prescription.

"Pharmacies are now connected nationwide, so when pharmacies sell prescription drugs, they are centrally managed," said Mr. Hiep.

According to Mr. Hiep, if selling drugs online via livestream means delivering them to homes by delivery, then the method of transporting and preserving drugs does not meet standards and does not guarantee the quality of the drugs.

“I think that the Ministry of Health’s proposal to ban the sale of drugs via livestream is correct. Because the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment stipulates that patients using drugs must have a prescription from a qualified doctor. In addition, when selling drugs, the pharmacy system is managed and monitored by the Ministry of Health. In addition, according to the principle, patients cannot listen to livestreams and then buy drugs to take by themselves. Taking drugs requires a prescription,” Mr. Hiep said, emphasizing that it is not suitable to sell drugs via livestream.

Dialogue - What do National Assembly deputies say about the proposal to ban the sale of drugs via livestream? (Image 2). — National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Anh Tri expressed his opinion (Photo: Hoang Bich).

According to National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi delegation), e-commerce is a trend and development direction of society. However, in recent times, there has been a phenomenon of chaos and disorder affecting people's health, money and trust. According to the delegate, the above chaos also occurs in many countries around the world.

Regarding the regulation prohibiting the sale of pharmaceuticals on social networks and online livestreaming in the draft Pharmacy Law, National Assembly Deputy Anh Tri expressed his agreement. In addition, he said that when amending, there must be a longer-term vision because in the future, online sales forms may develop strongly and change a lot.

"We do not prohibit online sales, but we must put them in a framework, orderly manner, with strict regulations because medicine is directly related to people's health," Mr. Anh Tri emphasized.

As a representative working in the medical sector, Mr. Tri believes that when selling pharmaceuticals and functional foods via social networks, there should be mandatory regulations requiring the public disclosure of clear business addresses and headquarters. If necessary, people can view, exchange, buy, sell, and even return goods.

Dialogue - What do National Assembly deputies say about the proposal to ban the sale of drugs via livestream? (Image 3). — In fact, there are many e-commerce sites selling drugs.

Mr. Tri gave an example when buying goods through social networks: "I bought an electric razor online. When I received the goods, I saw that they packaged it very carefully, but after using it, I could only use it once and had to throw it away. When I contacted the seller, I could not contact them. These items can be thrown away, accepting the loss of money, but for drugs, if people do not research carefully, when taking them, it will affect their health."

Meanwhile, National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan (HCMC delegation) also completely agreed with the proposal of the drafting agency regarding the regulation banning the sale of pharmaceuticals on social networking platforms and online livestreaming.

Ms. Lan said that drugs are special goods and cannot be freely bought and sold. At the same time, if sold on social networks and livestreams, it will be difficult to control the origin and quality. However, whether or not to completely ban the above situation requires the coordinated participation of functional agencies.

According to the Ministry of Health, pharmaceutical business by e-commerce is very new, becoming an inevitable trend in the digital age, providing many opportunities for retailers or companies, opening new markets, promoting products and expanding business capabilities of enterprises.

Although this content is not yet regulated in the 2016 Pharmacy Law, according to the Ministry of Health, in reality, many e-commerce sites selling drugs have appeared. Therefore, this agency believes that it is necessary to build a legal corridor to avoid gaps.

In the draft law, the Ministry of Health proposed to add to Article 42 of the 2016 Pharmacy Law the regulation that "facilities that have been granted a Certificate of Eligibility for Pharmaceutical Business are allowed to conduct pharmaceutical business via e-commerce through websites, sales applications installed on the facility's electronic devices; electronic trading floors licensed by the industry and trade sector that meet the conditions for pharmaceutical business". However, pharmaceutical business establishments are not allowed to conduct sales on social networking platforms or online livestreams.

In addition, Articles 76, 78, and 79 of the current Law on Pharmacy stipulate that drug information and drug advertising contents must be approved by the regulatory agency. In reality, the number of drug advertising and information dossiers is very large, increasing the administrative procedures that must be resolved for regulatory agencies and enterprises. Based on that, the drafting agency proposed to abolish the procedure for granting a certificate of drug advertising content (except for drug advertising through the means of organizing seminars, conferences, and drug introduction events).

In addition, drug advertising must comply with relevant advertising laws. Organizations and individuals conducting drug advertising (advertisers, advertising service providers, advertising publishers, and advertising product carriers) must be responsible for the information they provide .

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