LUCKNOW, May 18 -- The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) and Lucknow Chemists Welfare Association on Monday announced a nationwide strike on May 20 against the online sale of medicines. Lucknow Chemists Welfare Association president Amit Tiwari said the issue has gone beyond trade concerns and is now directly connected to public health and patient safety.

Several drug traders in Lucknow alleged that online platforms are selling medicines without proper medical consultation or pharmacist verification. They claimed that complaints are increasing about habit-forming drugs reaching young people through these platforms, with particular concern over the misuse of painkillers, sleeping pills and certain restricted medicin...