Pharmacies in city make a killing

A worker at the store adds,“The patches contain citronella oil,which is safe for the skin,which is why we recommend it.”

With growing awareness on the disease among city residents,owners of drug stores such as Nath Brothers say that sale of anti-mosquito sprays,wipes and lotions have gone up by 100 per cent. According to Gurwinder Bakshi,owner of Baxico Medicos in Lajpat Nagar,“Chicco sprays,gels and wipes are the most popular among customers,and our sales have nearly doubled due to the dengue menace.”

However,even though the imported products have found their way into more prominent pharmacies in the city,stocks are low as they are “grey-market imported”. In smaller medical stores,on the other hand,even common products such as lotions and sprays are in short-supply — resulting in a dip in sales.

A worker at CRS Pharmacy in Alaknanda says,“At a time when the products were available,there wasn’t as much demand. But with the rampant spread of dengue,pharmaceutical companies are finding it difficult to meet the demand even for popular products such as Odomos spray and cream. We have been running short of these repellents for the last three months.”

Some customers reportedly have a problem with the new products that have come up in the market. The owner of a well-known drug store in Kalkaji says that he stopped selling anti-mosquito patches because they were found to leave behind stains on clothes and furniture. “Now we only supply older and established products,which are cheaper and more effective,” he admits.