This document provides an overview of pharmacy laws and regulations, including definitions of pharmacy and a history of the profession globally and in Uganda. It begins with definitions tracing the term "pharmacy" back to ancient Greek and Latin roots. There is a discussion of ancient medical practices in Mesopotamia, China, Egypt, and Greece. It then covers developments in Europe and America, highlighting contributors like Paracelsus, Scheele, Pasteur, Koch, and Flemming. The document concludes with a brief history of pharmacy education and practice in Uganda from its beginnings in 1988 to the current recognized cadres.

1. PHARMACY LAWS AND
REGULATIONS
CPH II-SEMESTER I
By: Moses Hajusu M. PharmD, M.P.S

2. Outline
• Definition of the term Pharmacy
• History of pharmacy globally
• History of pharmacy in Uganda

3. Introduction to pharmacy profession
Definition of Term “Pharmacy”
 The word pharmacy derive from old French word farmacie
(substance such as food or in the form of medicine with a
laxative effect)
 Farmacie was derived from medieval Latin pharmacia
from greek pharmakeia (a medicine)
 Pharmakeia was derived from pharmakon which
translates to meaning “drug” meaning both “remedy” and
“poison” or “spell”
3

4. Definition of Term “Pharmacy”
 Profession that links both the field of health
sciences and field of chemistry
 A clinical health science that links medical
science with chemistry and it is charged with the
discovery, production, disposal, safe and
effective use, and control of medications and
drugs.
4

5. History of pharmacy globally

6. Ancient methods used in the treatment of
diseases
 Disease continues to trail man since the “Fall of Man”
and he has continued to seek ways of curing them.
 Early studies show that man used clay, mud, leaves
and supernatural means for alleviating symptoms of
various diseases.
 Women were reported to be earliest gatherers of
medicinal plants but the practice was taken up by men
in the society.
 Below were ancient methods used in the treatment of
diseases;

7. Ancient methods used in the
treatment of diseases
1. Empirical medical knowledge
 This knowledge of medicine was based on observations and
experience and not on scientific knowledge.
 This led to the discoveries of liquorice for cough in
Babylonia, rhubarb roots as purgative in China and dried
blueberries as anti-diarrhoea in Syria.
2. Roles of demons and spirits in disease
 The use of incantations, charms, and herbs in “curing”
diseases perceived to be spiritual was common in ancient
practice of medicine.
 Also, use of foul smelling urine and dungs were believed to
drive away evil spirits.

8. Ancient methods used in the
treatment of diseases
3. Resemblance (Signature) theory
 As man’s curiosity grew, he began to link causative and
curative agents and came up with the idea that a symptom
of a disease is an indication that a plant or plant part will be
effective for its treatment.
 It was more psychological than scientific.
 Examples include: worm-like roots for treating worm
infestation, heart-shaped leaves of Melissa for treating heart
diseases, yellow juice of celandine for treating jaundice.

9. Pharmacy before the down of history

10. Contributions of ancient nations to pharmacy and
medicine
• Mesopotamia (2600 BC) – These people were credited to be
the first to put medical knowledge in writing.
 Their medical discoveries ranged from oils, spices, plant
extract, animal parts and sometimes spiritual
incantations.
• Chinese (2000 BC) – The Chinese believed that diseases
resulted from the imbalance in forces acting on humans and
animals, thus produced herbal drugs with “spiritual”
effects.
 They were credited to be first users of podophyllum,
rhubarb, ginseng, cinnamon etc.

11. Pharmacy in Ancient Babylonia

12. Pharmacy in Ancient China

13. Contributions of ancient nations to
pharmacy and medicine
• Egyptians (2900 BC) – The Egyptians achieved
significant progress in medicinal knowledge and were
credited with discoveries of various dosage forms namely
decoction, enemas, infusions, inhalations, lotions etc.
 They also had plant drugs such as acacia, onions, aloe,
castor oil, opium etc.
 They prepared drugs with mortar and pestle, hand mills
and weighing balances etc.

14. Days of the Papyrus Ebers –Egyptian writings

15. Contributions of ancient nations to
pharmacy and medicine
• Greeks (1000 B. C.) – At the turn of the millennium, the Greeks had
taken over the knowledge, starting with superstition but later turned to
intellectual and rational use of drugs.
 “During the superstition era, Asklepios was believed to impact healing
by touching one with his staff or serpent. His daughter, Hygeia, was
also believed to have a healing portion and these emanated as the
international symbol of the pharmacy profession-The bowl of
Hygeia and the Rod of Asklepios”
 Notable Greek philosophers that contributed to the development of the
profession include Hippocrates, Theophrastus, Dioscorides,
Galenus, and Pythagoras.

16. Theophrastus – Father of Botany
(Greek)

17. Dioscorides – A Scientist Looks at
Drugs (Greek)

18. Development of pharmacy from
modern Europe and America
Pharmacy profession experienced a vast
growth in Europe especially with the evolution
of new study areas like biochemistry,
microbiology, and biology.
The 19th century welcomed the discovery of
important alkaloids such as morphine,
quinine, and emetine.

19. Development of pharmacy from
modern Europe and America
• Notable contributors are highlighted
below;
 Paracelsus (1493 – 1541 A.D.,
Switzerland): regarded as the
reformer of medicine and foundation of
biochemistry.
 He declared that “all drugs are poison,
the difference is the dose”.
 He also introduced the extraction of
secondary metabolites from medicinal
herbs.

20. Development of pharmacy from
modern Europe and America
 Carl Scheele (1743 – 1786
A.D., Switzerland): a
phytochemist of great repute.
 He isolated elements like
manganese, molybdenum,
and tungsten.
 He also discovered oxygen,
chlorine, nitroglycerine, and
glycerine

21. Development of pharmacy from
modern Europe and America
Louis Pasteur (1822 –
1897, France):
• First got a B.A and BSc, PhD
and later Chemistry professor
• worked mainly on alcohol and
produced vaccines for
chickenpox, cholera,
anthrax, and rabies.

22. Development of pharmacy from
modern Europe and America
Robert Koch (1843 – 1910,
Germany):
• Was a medical doctor
• he discovered the cause of
anthrax (B. anthracis) and
tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis).
• He developed different medium
for culturing microorganisms.

23. Development of pharmacy from
modern Europe and America
Alexander Flemming
(1881 – 1995,
Scotland):
• Physician and microbiologist
• Noted for his discovery
of penicillin and his
research in antibiotics.

24. The future of pharmacy profession
 The trend of pharmacy practice shows that the practice is becoming
more patient-oriented and no longer product-based.
 The role of the pharmacist has shifted from the classical “lick, stick
and pour” dispensary role to being an integrated member of the
health care team directly involved in patient care.

25. The future of pharmacy profession
• In UK, Legislation was passed in 2006 that allowed
pharmacists to independently prescribe any medication
in the British National Formulary (BNF) (except certain
controlled drugs) within their scope of practice.

26. History of pharmacy in Uganda

27. Overview
Pharmacy profession in Uganda was never
heard of until the establishment of the
department of pharmacy at Makerere university
in 1988, since the university’s foundation in
1922 as “Uganda Technical college”
This was followed by the first group of
pharmacists to be released by the department
in 1993

28. Overview
 The growth of the pharmacy profession has been slow ever
since the establishment of the Pharmaceutical Society of
Uganda (PSU) by the Pharmacy and Drugs Act
of 1970 and Cap 280 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Uganda.

29.  As of 2021, there are only 3 pharmacy profession training
universities in Uganda , of which only one is private.
 In the public health service of Uganda, pharmacists are mainly
employed to manage supply chain of medical supplies in
government health facilities. This is just a small portion of the
role of pharmacists in general

30. Other field of practice in pharmacy
-Regulatory roles (Pharmacists in NDA and
Ministry of health)
-Industrial roles (pharmacists in manufacturing
industries)
-Community practice (supervisory pharmacists in
community pharmacies)
-Academia (pharmacists in teaching roles)

31. Recognized cadres in the Uganda
pharmacy profession
1
• Pharmacist (degree)
2
• Dispenser (Diploma)
3
• Pharmacy assistant
(Certificate)

32. Thank you