BERSANI REFORM "Today there is competition between pharmacies, parapharmacies and large retailers, but real competition will only arise when this is possible even between pharmacies and pharmacies". But it remains blocked
Two thousand parapharmacies and corners in hypermarkets. Save at least 15 percent. However, there are still very few products available. So the pharmacies fight back with discounts. Panorama tested it by purchasing some specialities.
On one point the defenders of the free market and those of consumers agree: of the "sheets" of liberalizations launched in August 2006 by the Minister for Economic Development Pierluigi Bersani, that of medicines is the only one that has really worked. So much so that today the beneficial effects of competition on citizens' pockets lead to savings of up to 30 percent on the same drug. Free market. For the past year and a half, the sale of so-called OTCs, over-the-counter self-medication medicines, and Sops, medicines that can be purchased without a medical prescription, has also been allowed to parapharmacies (shops that cannot sell prescription medicines and life-saving ) and large retailers. The same thing that has been happening for years in other European countries such as Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Portugal and the Netherlands. In Italy, however, some barriers have been put in place to protect consumers. First: in supermarkets, sales are only possible in a "health corner", set up separately from the other departments and with the assistance of one or more registered pharmacists (a unique case in Europe).
Second: prize operations and sales below cost, such as the classic "3 for 2", remain prohibited.
Third: the freedom to discount the price of medicines has been introduced, abolishing the maximum ceiling of 20 per cent previously envisaged (Storace decree). An element now strengthened thanks to a provision, in force for a few days, which cancels the obligation to indicate the maximum reference price on the package, in order to activate even more discounts. The effects of the reform. In January of this year, 2,005 outlets of over-the-counter drugs were registered with the Ministry of Health; just a year ago there were 401. Compared to the historic universe of pharmacies (17,524 in all, of which 16,112 private and 1,412 public), the alternative is starting to become more concrete. The greatest increase concerns the South (here 759 points of sale were opened) and the North (589). For parapharmacies, 1,677 of the new exercises, Sicily, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto are in the lead. Not without some negative effects. "Many businesses have opened, perhaps even by taking out loans, in the illusion of large revenues," says Anna Tumiatti, owner of a parapharmacy in Verona for years. «But keeping prices lower also implies limited margins». In short, some may soon be forced to close their doors. As for the 207 corners set up by large-scale distribution, over half were opened in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. Regions such as Calabria, Valle d'Aosta, Basilicata and Molise remain uncovered, still today without hypermarkets stocked with drugs. The large chains vie for the market with initiatives. Coop played in advance (its about half of the corners active today) by also introducing the offer of pharmaceutical cosmetic products first to broaden the offer. Auchan, a French group that also owns Sma in Italy, has activated 26 parapharmacies in eight regions. The stated goal is to have one for each of the 47 hypermarkets. Each store has around 3,300 products
