``We have served notices on 14 medicine shops in the past week'', Assistant Commissioner of the Food and Drugs Commissionerate, Vadodara, N M Saiyed told Express Newsline. At least four of them were forced to shut down till they could produce evidence of employing qualified pharmacists.

According to official sources, not only does this common practice jeopardise the health of the masses -- it allows untrained people to deal with high-risk drugs -- it also endangers the job prospects of hundreds of qualified pharmacists.

At present, say sources, of the 1,000-odd licensed chemists (wholesalers and retailers) in the district and 600-odd in the city, at least 20 per cent do not have pharmacists on their rolls or employ ``part-timers'' as an eye-wash.

``Since anyone with a couple of years' experience passes off as a pharmacist, the market value of B.Pharm graduates has touched an all-time low'', says a senior official based in Gandhinagar.

The dangers of this is manifold. Though the layman often seeks the salesperson's prescription for a minor ailment, only a pharmacist (in the absence of a doctor) is qualified to recommend medicines, the dosage and even prepare a concoction particular to a patient.

But that is not always the case. Points out a pharmacist working at a popular medicine shop in Raopura: ``Just about any employee is allowed to sell Schedule H drugs -- with or without prescriptions from registered medical practitioners -- at several druggists' in the city.

``There are certain scheduled anti-biotics, tranquilisers, sedatives, anti-histamines, anti-hypersensitivity and anti-acidity medicines which seem to be common stuff, but can be fatal if a wrong spelling or wrong formula enters the picture, especially if they're being bought without a prescription.''

While this practice endangers patients' health, it also dulls job prospects of people like Shashank, who graduated in pharmacy from Belgaum five years now. ``I thought I'd be snatched up by a big chemist's shop and be paid anything upwards of Rs 4,000. I dreamt of saving money and setting up my own shop. But all I've done is change jobs several times -- at the last one I was paid Rs 2,000 -- and now I'm running from pillar to post to get a licence to set up a rented shop'', he says. ``And there's more struggle ahead''.

Admitting that medicine-retailing left a lot to be desired, Indian Medical Association office-bearers, including secretary Kamal Jain, say this was especially dangerous when the prescriptions were made out by quacks.

According to Saiyed, however, any sale of unprescribed scheduled drugs, especially in the absence of a pharmacist, violated provisions -- particularly Rule no 65 -- of the IDCA. ``It was under these rules that we served notices on 14 druggists'', he adds.

For the most part, it is a losing battle. Official sources point out that more than half the district-level inspectors' posts were vacant. ``In Vadodara, there are four inspectors in 13 posts, and we have the additional charge of Nadiad as well'', they add.

According to sources, the problem has snowballed with the mushrooming of pharmacy colleges in the State over the past 10 years, whereupon supply of qualified pharmacists outstripped demand, which remained static.

Agreeing that the issue needed to be tackled, State FD Commissioner S P Adesara asserts that though enforcement drives have been few and far between, ``the law shall now prevail in the truest sense''. He adds, ``Though I don't have confirmed reports, I believe that scores of notices have been issued to erring shopkeepers in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat, besides other cities.''

Interestingly, the official drive does not seem to be facing much resistance from chemists. Top office-bearers of the Baroda Chemists' Association, Natubhai Patel, Dayabhai Patel and Subhash Shah, told Express Newsline that while they welcome strict action from officials, the authorities should appreciate their problems as well.

Pharmacists could be not present during sales, they say, or they may not be available for full-time service, they point out.