The automatic medicine dispensers in a pharmaceutical chain store in Yuyao city of Ningbo [Photo/zj.zjol.com] 

A retailing license covering the operation of automatic medicine dispensers has recently been issued by local authorities to a pharmaceutical chain store in Yuyao city of Ningbo, the first license in China that approves the use of such a machine. 

The move lays a solid foundation for the rolling out of such dispensers in the entire city of Ningbo. 

The market supervision administration of Ningbo formulated a series of measures for the setting-up of automatic medicine dispensers this year, and conducted pilot work in many retailing stores, in an effort to meet the public demand for 24-hour medicine purchasing and promote the transformation of the local medicine retailing industry. 

It is stipulated in the measures that medicine retailing stores in the city are allowed to set up automatic dispensers for OTC medicines, but should note in their licenses their exact location.