71% consumers in Mumbai rarely asked for prescription, survey finds; Maharashtra FDA acted against 880 drug licensees in three months
On prescription checks, 36% of 3,697 Mumbai respondents said chemists never refused to give them medicines without a prescription and another 35% said they did so very rarely
A LocalCircles survey found that 71% of Mumbai consumers rarely refused to sell medicines without a prescription, compared to 64% nationally. The Maharashtra FDA intensified enforcement against retailers, inspecting 2,902 drug establishments between June and August 2026. Of these, 2,295 were sales establishments and 607 were manufacturing units, with 880 licensees facing action, including suspensions and cancellations.
Only 9% of Mumbai respondents said chemists refused sales most of the time, while only 5% said they always did so. The survey also revealed that only 28% of Mumbai consumers were assisted by a qualified pharmacist most of the time or always.
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