Parliament passed a bill to amend the Law on Drugstores and lift a number of restrictions on the opening of pharmacies by 69 votes in favor, IPN reports.

The bill modifies Article 19 of the law. Paragraph 4 that is removed provides that the newly founded drugstores will be placed at a distance of at least 250 meters of an existent pharmacy and at a distance of at least 500 meters of an existent drugstore that sells and also prepares medicines.

In the previous version of the law, there were stipulated demographic norms for opening drugstores. Thus, a pharmacy could be founded for 3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants. This provision was also eliminated, as was the provision concerning the founding of drugstores in accordance with the National Pharmacy Location Plan.