18 July,2011 07:01 AM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
Chemists, clinics complain short supply of drugs used in therapy for alcoholics is affecting success rate
Getting people to get off alcohol in the city has become a much tougher task for clinics because of the non-availability of drugs necessary for the therapy. According to chemists, doctors and clinics, one of the key drugs widely recommended for de-addiction is not available in stores across the city. "Short supply of these drugs is increasingly becoming a problem. Without pills it becomes almost impossible to kill the urge to gulp some wine," said a 30-year-old man, an alcoholic undergoing de-addiction therapy.
Liquor lust: People at a de-addiction clinic in the city. File pic
Take the case of Disulfiram, which costs Rs 30 for four tablets, has been out of stock for quite some time now. Medical distributor V K Jain, owner of Bhawani Enterprises from Sadashiv Peth, said, "This is a key drug widely recommended by doctors and used by alcoholics for the past eight years. I don't know why the drug is in short supply in the market. It's true that the supply has been decreasing in the past two years. But in the past couple of months, it has almost stopped."
Dr Rahul Tonpi, a physician from Bibwewadi, said, "I have prescribed this drug to at least 35 people who wanted to quit liquor. "And patients have been responding well to the drug so far. This is why the drug is inu00a0 high demand," he said. Tonpi, however, said that the availability of the drug in the market is not consistent.
"The state government must have put some restrictions as people have been misusing this particular drug too," he said. People generally quit drinking during Chaturmaas, a holy month. De-addiction clinics too confirm the trend of getting the maximum number of queries and referrals during this time of the year.
Subhash Pawar, a patient enrolled in a de-addiction programme, said that he selected this time of the year to say no to alcohol, but is facing problems in the absence of drugs. "My doctor had recommended this drug but despite looking around a lot, I didn't get the medicine. Now I am going to see if alternative drugs will work," he said.
Dr Devendra Shirole, National Vice President IMA, said that this drug is basically used in aversion therapy. "The drug produces unpleasant reactions in case alcohol is consumed. However, it is notu00a0 the only drug available and de-addiction programmesu00a0 substitute it with other drugs," he said.
