Government will remove cough syrup from ‘OTC’ list, former AIIMS director told what will be its effect?

Deaths due to cough syrup: After the death of dozens of children in many states due to drinking adulterated cough syrup, the central government has now become strict regarding cough syrup. The government is planning to remove it from the OTC list. Removal from the OTC list means that the drug will no longer be sold over the counter, with less stringent licensing and manufacturing standards.

In a notification issued on December 19, the government has proposed to remove the word ‘syrup’ from the list of cough medicines in Schedule K of the Drugs Rules, 1945. Let us tell you that this schedule includes those medicines which are exempted from some strict rules of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act for sale, and also do not require a medical prescription or prescription to buy.

In this regard, an official of the Health Ministry said that after the recent death of children due to drinking cough syrup, in the advisory committee meeting, experts agreed that cough syrup being a part of Schedule-K is easily sold and bought. It was also observed that cough syrup was being mis-sold and consumed among the people. Also, the solvent of the syrup was more likely to be contaminated than that of the tablets, hence the committee had earlier suggested making the cough syrup a prescription medicine. Let us tell you that at present the government has sought suggestions and comments on this within a month.

In this regard, Dr. M. Shree Mishra, former director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, says that removing cough syrup from OTC is necessary and a good step. Not only cough syrup, there are many other medicines which people buy without prescription and chemists sell, like painkillers etc., whereas as a rule, all medicines should have a doctor’s prescription.

The second important thing is that regulation and strict rules on medicines are very important. Rules should be made and strictly implemented not only regarding sale and purchase of medicines but also regarding their manufacturing, maintenance and quality. The problem here is that rules are made but they are not implemented strictly and honestly.

Dr. Mishra says that Paracetamol is the only medicine that can be bought or sold over the counter, but in the case of children, this cannot be compromised, because if this medicine, which is the safest, is given in excess quantity to children, it can cause serious harm, hence control over medicines is very important.