Mumbai Medicine Survey: 71 Per Cent Consumers Say Chemists Never Or Rarely Refused Medicines Without Prescription
Mumbai, September 19, 2026: Mumbai’s medicine retail sector continues to face questions over prescription compliance, with 71 per cent of consumers surveyed saying their local chemists either never or rarely refused to sell medicines when they did not have a doctor’s prescription. Prescription Compliance Concerns The findings of a LocalCircles survey have emerged amid the government’s proposal to…
Mumbai's medicine retail industry faces scrutiny over prescription compliance, with 71 percent of surveyed consumers stating that their local chemists either never or rarely refuse to sell medicines without a prescription, according to a LocalCircles survey. The survey, which polled 20,498 Mumbai residents, revealed that 36 percent of respondents reported their chemist had never refused prescription-less medicine sales, while 35 percent indicated such occurrences happened infrequently.
Conversely, just 5 percent claimed their chemist always denied medication without a prescription. The survey encompassed 1.06 lakh consumers across 327 districts, including Mumbai's 20,498 respondents. President of LocalCircles, Sachin Taparia, highlighted that participants were questioned on six aspects of medicine purchases, including prescription checks, delivery, pharmacists, billing, and medicine quality.
Home delivery verification of prescriptions emerged as a concern, with 18 percent of 3,697 respondents stating their chemist never requested a prescription for home-delivered medicines. Another 40 percent said prescriptions were checked occasionally. Only 11 percent reported never receiving medicines without verification. The survey found that local medical stores remain a significant source of medicine purchases for Mumbai residents; 57 percent of the 20,498 respondents purchased medicines directly or through a third party from local stores.
Another 26 percent ordered via phone or WhatsApp, while 17 percent utilized e-pharmacy applications. Concerns also arose over access to qualified pharmacists; only 10 percent of 3,012 respondents reported always receiving assistance from a qualified pharmacist, with 21 percent noting unqualified assistance. Billing discrepancies were also evident; 76 percent of 3,122 respondents received a printed GST bill, while 8 percent received only a receipt or paper, and 9 percent received no bill at all.
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