ZHANG Peijing, manager of Shanghai Leixi Drugstore, was relieved after hearing the news that enforcement of the new regulations on antibiotic sales will be postponed.

The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration announced postponement of implementation of the new regulations on the sale of antibiotics on June 29, just two days before they were to come into force.

"That does not mean we are going against the new regulation. But a transition period is needed for both the patients and the drug stores," said Ge Meixin, vice-director of the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration.

As the price gap between hospital pharmacies and drugstores will still remain wide, people will be able to buy the same antibiotics at a much reduced cost from the local drugstore.

The past few months have seen a rush of people demanding antibiotics. They want to store the medicines while they can still get them at a low price.

According to the new regulation, after July 1 a doctor's prescription was to be the only way to get antibiotics. But the doctor's prescription is under the strict authority of the hospitals which would prevent patients from buying the medicine in drugstores. It can only be used to buy the medicines in a hospital pharmacy.

"And doctors tend to give you more medicines to take. They receive a bonus from the pharmaceutical distributors or drug manufacturers if they prescribe more medicines," said Ge. "Patients have their rights and the drug stores have theirs too."

For drugstores, July 1 was their nightmare and the key to determining their fate as profitable businesses.

A big drop is expected in the number of customers with prescriptions for antibiotics.

"The reaction of the pharmaceutical factories was also a cause for concern," Ge said.

Harbin Pharmacy Group, one of pharmaceutical giants in China will suffer a loss totalling 500 million yuan (US$60 million) this year, according to Liu Cunzhou, general manager of the group.

Antibiotics are the most profitable medicines in China costing little to produce but with a much higher retail price.

The number of pharmaceutical factories has increased to 70,000 from 500 two decades ago. And antibiotics are their favourite product.

"The market is enticing. Copying antibiotics is simple and effective. They just have to imitate a medicine which has already been invented. They have no cost of research so they can make big money," said Cai Hai, a sale representative of North China Pharmacy Group in Shanghai.

To sell these expensive medicines, each factory boasts a large group of salesmen.

"The number of salesmen can be 50 per cent higher than the number of workers in the factory," said Cai.

"But the interests of the pharmaceutical factories is not the key factor in the postponement of the new regulation," said Wang Longxing, director of Shanghai Food and Drug Administration. "We're just focusing on the health and the interests of the common people."

So how long the transition period will last is still a question? "We have still not decided when the transition period should terminate, maybe months or maybe half an year," Ge said.

But alternative actions have been taken to prevent antibiotics abuse in Shanghai. Under a regulation of the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration, doctors must tell patients about the potential harm from antibiotics and give them warnings about taking the medicine.