Hanoi’s health authorities have shut down 33 illegal drugstores in the Vietnamese capital city since the beginning of 2014, as part of efforts to tighten control over the sales of medicines, especially antibiotics. Chief Inspector of the Health Department Nguyen Viet Cuong said that a majority of the violations at the drugstores included the absence of pharmacists, sale of unlabelled medicines, substandard facilities and displaying medicines along with food supplements. Inspectors also found that the law was being violated in 24 health clinics where foreign doctors were registered to work. However, most of these foreign doctors had reportedly returned to their countries. (Vietnam News Aug 22)
