Salloum addressed the pharmacists with a plea, saying: "As in every crisis or disaster, whether economic, pandemic, or wars, the essential role of the pharmacist emerges, which has been proven in all the tribulations that have passed, whether national, professional ethics, or humanitarian."

"Today, as in the past, we rely heavily on you, appreciating your sacrifices in all sectors and all regions, especially the border areas and places of displacement. We also rely on you in awareness, insight, and professional ethics, in rationalizing the dispensing of medicine, so that each patient is given his need, to prevent its storage, and its subsequent spoilage, or its diversion by smuggling networks to the black market, and thus depriving a patient in need of it. We also urge you to refrain from any form of storage for commercial purposes, and we are confident that you are far from that," he stressed.

"We pray to God to keep Lebanon and its beloved people away from the evil of aggression and the Zionist crime machine, which he cannot bear, after all the successive crises he has suffered. He also inspires officials on how to perform their national role to protect the people of Lebanon," he added.

Salloum had previously condemned, in a statement issued earlier this month, "the barbaric Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip", affirming "the right of the Palestinian people to defend their land".

He called on "the international community and those in charge of the file to neutralize Lebanon", saying: "Any exhaustion that may occur in Lebanon will have its catastrophic impact on the already deteriorating health and pharmaceutical realities, which are experiencing the worst stage in their history, in light of difficulties in the hospital sector and a sharp shortage of cancer and intractable disease medications."

He confirmed that "all reliance is linked to the patriotism of those in charge to keep away the cup, which the Lebanese cannot swallow."

Salloum said, in a conversation with Leb Economy: "In 2019, we were importing about 80 million packages of medicine, and we became in 2022 and 2023 importing 37 million packages, meaning that the import rate decreased by about 50 percent."

He pointed out that "Lebanon cannot bear the repercussions of any war or security events", saying: "We are in a crisis today, so how will we be in the event of a war?"