The stock of drugs is sufficient for this period.

The head of the Lebanese Pharmacists Union, Ghassan Al-Amin, noted that “following the rise in the dollar exchange rate on the black market, the price of medicines in Lebanon, which are sold in Lebanese pounds, has become one of the cheapest in the region, which makes it more vulnerable to smuggling, “considering that” drug smuggling remains in a narrow and limited range. ” This is because it is usually through the airport, which, due to the (Corona) pandemic, has not recovered its full movement. “

In the context of talking about drug smuggling, Al-Amin noted in an interview with the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper that “this year’s drug import bill was lower than last year, and this means that smuggling is not in large quantities and is not an important reason for losing drugs in pharmacies, “noting that” The main reason is the political crisis and its repercussions on the dollar, in addition to the delay of the Central Bank of Lebanon in approving the drug bills, whose dollar imports ensure the official exchange rate. “

Al-Amin spoke about a rationale that contributed to the loss of a number of drugs, which is “the flood of citizens over the past two months, and after talking about the Bank of Lebanon trend to lift support for materials basic supplies, including medicines, to be stored in their homes for fear of their price increase. “

Al-Amin stressed that “drug stocks have recently decreased from six months to no more than a month and a half, so pharmacies now sell only their necessities to the citizen.”

Al-Amin warned of the worsening drug crisis as imports decline, noting that “citizens have stockpiled drugs for chronic diseases, drugs for nerves and some cancer drugs that are sold in pharmacies, and therefore So much there is a shortage of these drugs more than others. ”