Head of Pharmacists Syndicate Ghassan Al-Amin indicated that “The  major financial collapse caused a rift, words and ideals do not bear fruits, and we as academics and experts, must do our work to import good medicines. There are scientific methods that are supposed to be available to know that the drug is good or not.”

Al-Amin explained, in a television interview, that “Iran is a very developed country, but I do not know if its medicine is good or not, the Egyptian,Tunisia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan’s medicines are registered in Lebanon, and in all third world countries, but I cannot know if the imported medicine is good without undergoing analysis and examinations, and this is what is required.”

He stressed, “Let the Pharmaceutical Importers Syndicate take the initiative and secure the cheapest and high-quality medicine.” He pointed out that “there are subsidized and unsupported medicines. The Ministry of Health tags the medicine at the price that is imported, and the Banque du Liban pays the difference. And later, if the importer imports at an exchange rate of 24000, he sells at 24000.”

Amin added that “the pricing of medicines at 12,000 today is due to the presence of medicines in warehouses. Today, 60 to 70 percent of medicines are not available in the pharmacies that have opened its doors, but companies do not deliver.” He continued, “It was initially proposed that the price of the drug be loose, but we, as a union, refused, as well as some employees in the ministry, because this is not the way to be dealt with medicines.”