Do we Need Medical 'Prescription' to Buy 'Paracetamol' in Pharmacies? - Govt Clarifies!

Tamil Nadu state government on Tuesday announced at court that there are no restrictions on the sale of paracetamol tablets. Further, the court said that the state must ensure that paracetamol tablets are sold over the counter without prescriptions.

The public interest litigation was filed by A Joel Sugumar in Madurai. The petitioner argued that paracetamol is classified as a home remedy under Schedule K of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. It was argued that the drug is one of the most common painkillers used to normalise body temperature and that it can be sold at pharmacies without prescriptions.

The petitioner further stated that people who are suffering from fever and cold, other than Covid-19 purchase this drug as a remedy. But, pharmacies were orally instructed to not sell tablets without prescriptions only due to Covid-19. This restriction is causing hardship to the people, he added.

After hearing the plea submitted to Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice P Rajamanickam; they passed the order.