Major regulatory overhaul: Central intervention after mass deaths; prescription compulsory for cough syrup

NEW DELHI: Amendment to the law to curb the cough syrup mafia. The action comes in the wake of mass deaths due to widespread manufacturing of fake syrup. The draft notification has been issued. Only those who come with a doctor's prescription can be given cough syrup from medical stores and pharmacies.

The law currently allows the sale of cough syrup without a license in places with a population of less than 1,000. This is being exploited by counterfeiters. Even small shops in northern Indian hamlets sell fake syrups. This will no longer be allowed.

Cough lozenges (like Strepsils), pills and tablets do not require a prescription.

The amendment is in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940. Cough syrup will be removed from the list of medicines that can be given without a prescription. The draft released by the Health Ministry will be open for public comments within 30 days. A final notification will then be issued.

Syrup sales in the country in 2024: Rs 21,800 crore (unofficial information)

• More than 20 children died of kidney failure in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara last October after taking cough medicine from a private clinic. The culprit was Tamil Nadu's Sreesan Pharmaceuticals' Coldriff cough syrup. The diethylene glycol was 500 times more than the permissible level. It was subsequently banned. Two children died in Rajasthan.
• Five fake syrup manufacturing companies were busted in Varanasi last week. They were operating under the guise of a company that existed only on documents. Five people were arrested. It was found that transactions worth Rs 23 crore were made and the money was transferred through hawala.

High dose medicine banned

Pills, orally disintegrating tablets, granules and powder forms of the painkiller nimesulide with a strength of more than 100 mg have been banned. They are harmful to the liver and are banned in many countries.