Do not neglect drug safety

The tragic incident in which a girl died after consuming shawarma from an eatery in Kasaragod is the reason for the ongoing inspections and procedures in restaurants across the state. If the concerned departments and the government needs to wake up, something serious like this has to happen. Government and the authorities will only intervene after casualties. Roads will be dug for some purpose. Pits on the road that remain unfilled will then become a death trap for two-wheelers. The authorities wake up when the life of some unfortunate person falls into it.

The reason for saying all this is the headline news we published yesterday regarding drug safety in the state. There is as much negligence in ensuring the safety of medicines as there are lapses in ensuring food safety. It is estimated that over a quarter of a million medical shops and private hospital pharmacies in the state sell at least Rs 6,000 crore worth of medicines a year. If anyone complains about the quality of the drugs sold in these areas, it is the responsibility of the Drugs Department to investigate. Currently, even if the 47 drug inspectors go on a marathon inspection, it won't reach anywhere. Despite the recommendation to create new posts for drug inspectors, the health department has remained silent. Even if one person is given the task of inspecting 300 medical shops, the figures will be correct only if sixty-one new people are appointed.

The Department of Drug Control needs to do its utmost to ensure that counterfeit drugs are not sold. That, in turn, demands more staff. But when it comes to new posts, the explanation would be that government has no money to put in more people. This is despite the fact that it is a biological problem that affects the health of the people. Food adulteration and irregularities are rampant. Despite inspections, it is impossible to say how many of these will go unnoticed. The same goes for drug tests. There are many medicines that should not be sold without a doctor's prescription. In many places, they are sold without a prescription.Even products of companies operating without even a license are sold through medical stores.

The government needs to understand the importance of strengthening the drugs department as it is a matter of people's lives. One can know after consuming bad food, but that's not the case with counterfeit drugs. The government should not play a part in such a catastrophe.