Affordable Drugs, Unaffordable Risks: When Government Medicine Hits Like Fast Food

Source: Author’s Facebook page

Some things the government knows how to sell flawlessly—not because they are any good, but because they come beautifully packaged.

Here is a fresh “victory of social policy”: under the decision of the National Security and Defense Council and a presidential decree, people are promised lower medicine prices and “availability everywhere.” As a symbol of this new era, over-the-counter medicines are now being sold at gas stations — even through vending machines.

And that’s when I became sharply wary. I know one very Ukrainian trick: when the state cannot provide a proper system, it absolves itself of responsibility and calls it a reform.

In a normal country, this would be about safety and oversight. Here, it’s “self-medicate” — now with a coffee on the go.

Great manipulation: “We do it like in Europe.”

The main argument of lobbyists for selling medicines at gas stations is the alleged European experience. We are told: look at Poland, Sweden, or Denmark — it works there.

This is a half-truth that is worse than a lie.

Yes, in some EU countries you can buy medicines at gas stations. But the devil is in the details — details our officials prefer to keep quiet. First, in Europe, only a limited range of products is permitted.  For example, in Poland, this list contains around products: common painkillers, throat lozenges, and treatments for heartburn. Second, there are strict requirements for packaging (small packs for 1–2 days of use to avoid overdoses) and storage conditions.

What does the Ukrainian Ministry of Health propose? Opening the floodgates to the entire non-prescription range — thousands of items, from complex anti-allergic drugs to medications affecting blood pressure or the gastrointestinal tract. No EU country allows such uncontrolled circulation of medicines without a pharmacist’s supervision. This is not European integration — it is deregulation at the level of a third-world country.

The Accessibility Paradox: Why Fix What Already Works?

The greatest absurdity here is that the argument about the “unavailability of medicines on the road” is completely contradicted by reality.

Let’s be honest: aspirin, paracetamol, Nurofen, Strepsils, Rennie, and activated charcoal are already available at most branded gas stations in Ukraine. This basic kit, sufficient for emergencies on the road, is already available to drivers.

So why expand the range? Why turn a gas station into a full-fledged pharmacy without a pharmacist? The answer is obvious: this decision is driven not by concern for patients, but by the desire of large fuel networks to capture a share of a high-margin market — and for the government to tick a box in the “reform” report.

Gas Station Economics: Why It Will Be Expensive and Dangerous

The authorities promise that competition with gas stations will force pharmacies to lower prices. This claim makes economists smile bitterly. The business model of any gas station is built on convenience pricing. Have you ever seen water or chocolate sold cheaper at a gas station than in a supermarket? No — everything is 30–50% more expensive. It is naive to expect that chains that sell hot dogs with triple markups will suddenly turn into social donors of cheap medicines.

High prices are the smaller problem. The greater danger is the lack of control. Medicines are chemical compounds sensitive to temperature. Pharmacies allocate large budgets to maintain climate control systems and refrigeration equipment, which are subject to regular checks by health authorities. Who will monitor thousands of vending machines along highways? What happens to syrup or pills that have been sitting in a machine baking in the July sun, or frozen solid in January? This is no longer medicine — it is potential poison. And when a patient suffers complications, there will be no one to hold accountable: the gas station cashier is not responsible.

Devaluation of the Profession: Cashier and Nurse Instead of Pharmacist

The decision to allow the sale of medicines without the involvement of a specialist is a crime against pharmaceutical safety. A pharmacist is not a salesperson. They are trained experts who understand drug interactions, side effects, and contraindications. There will be no such filter at a gas station. Someone with an ulcer could buy a painkiller that triggers bleeding. A hypertensive person could purchase a cold medicine that provokes a crisis.

At the same time, the government is pushing another “brilliant” idea: allowing nurses to work in village pharmacies. With all due respect to nurses, their training emphasizes following doctors’ orders and patient care, but they are not qualified to manage pharmaceutical responsibilities. This is a blatant role reversal and a step back for professional standards. Instead of encouraging pharmacists to serve rural communities, the state is cutting corners and compromising care for the countryside.

“Dictatorship of cheapness” in hospitals

And finally, about “transparency” in hospital pharmacies. The requirement to sell only the three lowest-priced drugs from the National Drug Catalogue sounds social, but in practice, it is a trap. A patient in a hospital, often in serious condition, is deprived of a choice. The cheapest generic is imposed on him, which may be less effective or less purified than a more expensive analogue. High-quality European manufacturers will leave this market segment, unable to withstand a price war with the cheapest (often Asian) substances. This is not accessibility of treatment – this is forced savings on the health of the most vulnerable.

Instead of conclusions:

What is being presented today as a great victory and a step toward European integration is, in reality, a set of chaotic, lobby-driven decisions.

• We are not getting closer to Europe, but moving away from its safety standards.
• We are not lowering prices, but creating new channels of excess profits for fuel giants.
• We are not improving accessibility, but increasing the risk of mass poisonings from counterfeit and spoiled drugs.

The real reform is insurance, medicine, reimbursement, and strict quality control. And turning the country into a big bazaar, where pills are sold mixed with petrol, is the path to the abyss. The government package under the brand name “accessibility of medicines” contains dangerous deregulation (gas stations + vending), which does not bring about either a reduction in prices or real accessibility – but removes pharmaceutical care from the system and shifts the risk to the citizen, this is the path to chaos, where the person-client of the gas station will again become the ultimate victim.

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