Medications displayed on the shelves of a pharmacy in the capital. (Credit: Archive photo by Marc Fayad)
"Circumventing the laws has long been common practice in Lebanon, but lately, the situation has become uncontrollable," said Talal, a pharmacist in Beirut with more than 40 years of experience. Like him, health professionals have recently raised alarms about growing fraud in Lebanon’s pharmaceutical sector, including delivery services offering medications, attempts to set up pharmacies in shopping malls or supermarkets, and the expansion of large pharmacy chains through frontmen.Faced with these practices driven by "the lure of profit," according to a Tuesday statement by the Lebanese Order of Pharmacists, they have committed to fighting this scourge by using "all the legal tools at their disposal," to "preserve the integrity of the profession and, above all, the health of patients and citizens." Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Joe...
"Circumventing the laws has long been common practice in Lebanon, but lately, the situation has become uncontrollable," said Talal, a pharmacist in Beirut with more than 40 years of experience. Like him, health professionals have recently raised alarms about growing fraud in Lebanon’s pharmaceutical sector, including delivery services offering medications, attempts to set up pharmacies in shopping malls or supermarkets, and the expansion of large pharmacy chains through frontmen.Faced with these practices driven by "the lure of profit," according to a Tuesday statement by the Lebanese Order of Pharmacists, they have committed to fighting this scourge by using "all the legal tools at their disposal," to "preserve the integrity of the profession and, above all, the health of patients and citizens." Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Joe...