Dispute over the prohibition to advertise the activity of so called pharmaceutical entrepreneur

Abstract

Pharmaceutical services refer to the regulated market, as they are the sole domain of pharmacists performing the so-called medical profession of public trust. Therefore, pharmacies as public health care facilities are subject to regulations different from other business facilities. One of the restrictions for a free pharmaceutical activity is Article 94a(1) of the Pharmaceutical Law, according to which it is prohibited to advertise pharmacies and pharmaceutical outlets and their activity; the information about the localization and opening time of a pharmacy or a pharmaceutical outlet is not treated as an advertisement. In the practice of applying this provision, pharmaceutical entrepreneurs are often limited in the scope of their own commercial offer. The objective of this article is a clarification of the concept of advertising pharmacies or pharmaceutical outlets and an attempt to resolve whether the prohibition to advertise pharmacies included in the provisions of the Pharmaceutical Law infringes the freedom of economic activity guaranteed to each entrepreneur pursuant to the Polish Constitution.