The Hon. (Dr.) Hansaka Wijemuni - Deputy Minister of Health and Mass Media

Jathika Jana balawegaya· Mahanuwara· 7 March 2025 ·Oral question: Oral Question: Shortage of Pharmacists and External Pharmacist Examination (Q.492/2025)

Healthcare

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Medicines are regulated according to risk, with over-the-counter drugs available without prescription, prescription medicines requiring a registered medical practitioner’s authorization, and narcotics subject to special prescription and storage controls. The Deputy Minister said these safeguards are necessary to protect the public, while noting that concerns about proportionality could be considered.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Globally, medicines are categorized for consumer safety. Over-the-counter medicines, such as paracetamol, can be purchased without prescription; others require a registered medical practitioner’s prescription. Narcotics require special prescriptions, controlled storage and related systems. These rules protect the public; therefore, maintaining such regulations is necessary. That said, we can consider proportionality concerns raised.

Provenance

Source: Hansard, Friday, 7 March 2025 ·No. 1743066559006904 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Hansaka Wijemuni - Deputy Minister of Health and Mass Media. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 7 March 2025. No. 1743066559006904. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/17884