PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
After Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand has also imposed restrictions on the sale of cough syrups after deaths of children after consumption of the medication in other States. According to officials, the State government has restricted the sale of syrups containing dextromethorphan and chlorpheniramine maleate + phenylephrine hydrochloride for children aged below four years.
According top priority to public health, the State government has started a campaign against the said cough syrup and other restricted medicines across the State. On the directions of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat, joint teams of the Health department and Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted inspections in medical stores, wholesalers and pharmacies in hospitals across the State. This campaign was started after the recent deaths of children in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh after consumption of cough syrup, officials said. It was stated that children aged under two years should not be administered any medicine for cough and cold without a doctor’s prescription. The general use of such medicines is not recommended for children aged below five years. These medications can be used only on the advice of a specialist doctor along with the right diet and for a minimum period, officials added.
Health secretary and FDA commissioner R Rajesh Kumar directed all chief medical officers to ensure that the Central government advisory is implemented in the State with immediate effect. He said that the safety of children and public health is of utmost importance. He directed that drug inspectors should collect cough syrup samples in a phased manner and get them tested for quality in the laboratory, so that any flawed or harmful medicine can be removed immediately from the market. Kumar also requested all doctors in the State to adhere to the Central advisory and not prescribe the prohibited cough syrups for children. As medical stores will sell such syrups if they are prescribed by doctors, the doctors should also act responsibly and avoid the restricted medicines, the Health secretary said.
Officials said that according to the Central government advisory, any medicine for cough and cold should not be given without a doctor’s advice to children aged below two years while the common use of such medicines is not recommended for children aged below five years.
Dhami said that the safety of children and public health cannot be compromised with. The State government is committed to ensuring that every medicine sold in the State is safe and as per the standards. Public health is the government’s top priority and there will be no laxity when it comes to the safety of children, he added.
Rawat said that the State is seriously following the advisory of the Central government. The government will not tolerate any negligence related to medicines for children. All doctors and chemists have been directed to neither prescribe nor sell the prohibited syrup, the minister added.
