In a joint enforcement drive to ensure compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the Drug Control Unit under the NCORD-Mokokchung, along with the District Administration, Police Department, and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, carried out a surprise inspection of pharmacies in Mokokchung town on Monday.
The drive focused on medical outlets whose drug licenses were recently cancelled. During the inspection, the team found that five pharmacies — M/s Lucky Drugs, Faith Medicine, and Longkumer Pharmacy (all located in Sangtemla Ward), and JR Aren Pharmacy and Life Pharmacy (located in Dilong Ward) — were still operating in violation of Section 18(c) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
As per an update received here, authorities confiscated the stock of medicines from these establishments under Section 31(ii) of the Act. It further informed that such enforcement drives will continue at regular intervals and that violators will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law.
The NCORD-Mokokchung inspection team also checked the installation of CCTV cameras in operational medical outlets. All pharmacies were further directed to prominently display labels stating “TO BE SOLD ONLY ON PRESCRIPTION” for Schedule H and H1 drugs, in line with the regulatory norms.