Unsafe drugs still on sale

Drugs supposed to be sent back to companies by chemist stores after ban imposed by Union Health Ministry readily available across city

Drugs supposed to be sent back to companies by chemist stores after ban imposed by Union Health Ministry readily available across city

Chemist shops across the city are playing with your life, selling drugs banned by the Health Ministry, a MiD DAY investigation has revealed.

Illegally sold: Some of the banned drugs purchased from chemists in the city. Pic/Jignesh Mistry

During the investigation done over the past couple of days, MiD DAY found that city chemists were selling banned drugs with impunity; either chemists and distributors don't give a hoot about selling these banned drugs, or the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) is so weak in the city that drug stores do not bother about it.

MiD DAY visited various parts of the city and purchased drugs which have been labelled unsafe for human use by the Health Ministry, with bills of the transaction. The drug store owners did not bat an eyelid when asked if these drugs were safe.

MiD DAY purchased bottles of oral suspension of nimesulide and cisapride manufactured under different brand names from Pimpri, Aundh, Camp, NIBM Road and Deccan, besides purchasing a pack of 10 tablets of sibutramine tablets from Camp.

Feb 10 notification
In a notification issued on February 10, the Union Health Ministry announced three drugs ufffd nimesulide for paediatric usage or the drug in suspension form to treat pain and fever in children, cisapride for stomach acid reflux, and phenylpropanolamine (PPA), a component of popular cold and cough syrups ufffd were unsafe for use and banned in India with immediate effect. In the same notification, sibutramine and its formulations were also banned for human use.

Following the ban, the drugs were supposed to be withdrawn from city chemists and the stocks sent back to distributors to be passed on to the manufacturing or marketing company.

FDA Joint Commissioner, Pune Division, S T Patil said that distributors had been notified to call back stocks.

"Even if the chemists have old stock, they are not supposed to sell it. They are to send it back to the company. We have tried to disseminate the information through the mass media and also through the various associations," said Patil. "Though it would be unfair to take action on chemists who don't know about the ban and we have to give them some time to comply with the notice, it is true that the ban is already in effect and people should stop purchasing these drugs."

The FDA warning does not seem to bother chemists, as MiD DAY not only purchased these drugs but also did so without a prescription. All these drugs mentioned that they came under Schedule H and should be sold only on prescription by a registered medical practitioner.

Docs to blame too
Dr Sharad Agharkhedkar, president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Pune chapter, said that the onus to stop the use of these drugs also was on doctors, many of whom continued to prescribe them.

"Though we have through the IMA tried our best to disseminate this information, many doctors continue to prescribe these drugs," said Agharkhedkar. "May be they don't know about the ban, but I really think the onus to implement the ban is also on our medical community."