Section 2: Interpretation

2. Interpretation In this Act— “assistant pharmacist” means a person registered as such under section 12; “authorised person” means a— (a) medical practitioner; (b) dental surgeon; or (c) veterinary surgeon, in the exercise of his profession; “Board” means the Pharmacy Board established under section 3; “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board; “Committee” means the Education Committee, the Trade and Therapeutics Committee, the Poisons Committee or the Planning Committee; “dangerous drug” has the same meaning as in the Dangerous Drugs Act; “Director-General” means the Director-General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority established under the Mauritius Revenue Authority Act; “drug” means a substance or ingredient intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease in a human being or an animal; “Education Committee” means the Education Committee referred to in section 6; “inspector” means any public officer designated as such by the Minister; “manufacture”, in relation to a pharmaceutical product, includes compound, formulate, fill, package and label or perform any other operation; “manufacturer” means a person licensed under section 36; “medicine” means a chemical product, preparation, biological product or other substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any ailment, infirmity or injury affecting a human being or an animal or for dental treatment; “Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of health is assigned; [Issue 1] P8 – 2 Revised Laws of Mauritius “Permanent Secretary” means the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry; “Pesticides Control Board” means the Pesticides Control Board established under section 3 of the Pesticides Control Act; “pharmaceutical product” means a drug, medicine, preparation, poison or therapeutic substance; “pharmacist” means a person registered as such under section 12; “pharmacy” means any premises where, subject to this Act, any pharmaceutical product may be dispensed, sold, exposed or offered for sale; “pharmacy technician” means a person registered as such under section 12 who is a dispenser of pharmaceutical products or assists a pharmacist or an assistant pharmacist in the dispensing of pharmaceutical products; “Planning Committee” means the Planning Committee referred to in section 9; “poison”— (a) means a substance specified in the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules; (b) subject to paragraph (c), includes any poisonous substance or liquid; but (c) does not include— (i) a substance which is an ingredient in adhesives, antifouling compositions, builders’ materials, ceramics, distempers, electrical valves, enamels, explosives, fillers, fireworks, fluorescent lamps, glazes, glue, inks, lacquer solvents, loading materials, machine spread plasters, matches, motor fuels and lubricants, paints other than pharmaceutical paints, photographic paper, pigments, plastics propellants, rubber, surgical dressings, varnishes or vascular plants and their seeds; (ii) a substance specified in the first column of the Second Schedule and constituted or used in the manner specified in the second column of that Schedule; (iii) an article containing barium carbonate or zinc phosphide which has been prepared for the destruction of rats or mice; or (iv) cannabis or a cannabis derivative when used as an ingredient in a corn paint; “Poisons Committee” means the Poisons Committee referred to in section 8; “pre essings, varnishes or vascular plants and their seeds; (ii) a substance specified in the first column of the Second Schedule and constituted or used in the manner specified in the second column of that Schedule; (iii) an article containing barium carbonate or zinc phosphide which has been prepared for the destruction of rats or mice; or (iv) cannabis or a cannabis derivative when used as an ingredient in a corn paint; “Poisons Committee” means the Poisons Committee referred to in section 8; “preparation” means— (a) a solution or mixture, in any physical state, containing a medicine or a therapeutic substance; or P8 – 3 [Issue 1] Pharmacy Act (b) a medicine or a therapeutic substance in dosage form; “prescription” means a written order for a pharmaceutical product issued by an authorised person; “psychotropic substance” has the same meaning as in the Psychotropic Substances Act; “purity”, in relation to a substance, means the degree to which other chemical or biological entities are present in the substance; “quality control” means measures designed to ensure the conformity of raw materials, finished products and stocks with established specifications of identity, strength, purity and other characteristics; “register” means the register specified in section 11 (b); “Registrar” means the Registrar of the Board; “shelf life”, in relation to a drug, means the period under which the potency of the drug has been maintained under such conditions of storage as may be specified on the label of the drug; “specified standards” means such standards as are specified in the British, French, United States or European Pharmacopoeia; “student” means a person registered as such under section 13; “temporary absence” means a period of absence not exceeding 2 hours in a day; “therapeutic substances”— (a) means a substance whose purity and potency cannot be adequately tested by chemical means; and (b) includes a preparation; “Trade and Therapeutics Committee” means the Trade and Therapeutics Committee referred to in section 7; “wholesale pharmacy” means any premises used or intended to be used for the sale of pharmaceutical products by wholesale. PART II – BOARD AND COMMITTEES