Drugstore chains will be forbidden from selling prescription medicines on the internet, according to a draft regulation released by the China Food and Drug Administration.
根据国家食品药品监督管理总局公布的一项规定草案，药品连锁企业不得通过网络销售处方药。
Violators will receive fines of 5,000 to 20,000 yuan, according to the draft, which was released last month.
于上月公布的该草案指出，违规者将被处以5000元以上2万元以下罚款。
Drug sales online for nonprescription medicines will be scrutinized by food and drug authorities using standards as strict as those for offline sales. Producers of pharmaceuticals or wholesalers will not be able to sell medicines directly to individuals online, said the draft.
草案称，非处方药的网上药品销售，将受到食品和药品监管部门的严格审查，其标准与线下销售的一样严格。药品生产、批发企业不得通过网络直接向个人销售药品。
Online sellers of nonprescription drugs will be held responsible for the quality and safety of the drugs they distribute and must ensure regulatory compliance in the transportation and storage of the drugs.
网络非处方药销售者应当对配送药品的质量与安全负责，确保药品储存运输过程符合相关法规。

Online platforms will be required to confirm that sellers are legal drug producers, wholesalers or chain retailers, the draft said.
该草案规定，网络平台需确保销售者为合法的药品生产、批发、零售连锁企业。
Platforms will also be required to inspect and supervise delivery service providers selected by drug sellers using the platforms to ensure that they meet standards, the draft said.
平台还需对入驻平台的药品销售者选择的递送企业进行审核和监督，确保其符合标准。
Zhao Zhigang, a pharmacist at Beijing Tiantan Hospital, said banning the sale of prescription drugs online is the right way to protect people's health.
北京天坛医院一名名叫赵志刚的药剂师称，禁止在网上销售处方药是保障人们健康的正确方法。
"It is difficult to provide effective supervision of the drug trade online, which means that drugs sold online are more likely to be fake or substandard, and risks will appear if prescription drugs can be sold online, such as fake prescriptions," he said.
他表示：“对网上药物交易进行有效的监督是很困难的，而这就意味着在网上销售的药品更有可能是假药或劣药，如果处方药可以在网上销售，就会出现如假处方药这样的风险。”