Uttarakhand launches campaign against banned drugs, cough syrups after MP, Rajasthan incidents

The Uttarakhand government has launched a rigorous campaign against banned drugs in view of children’s deaths caused by cough syrup consumption in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The state on Saturday banned syrups containing dextromethorphan and a combination of chlorpheniramine maleate and phenylephrine hydrochloride for children under four years, following guidelines issued by the centres.

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Taking immediate action on the Centre’s advisory regarding cough syrups and other banned drugs, and following subsequent instructions from Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the health department has directed all Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) to strictly adhere to the order, prioritizing the safety of children and public health.

Health Secretary Dr R Rajesh Kumar instructed FDA officials to collect samples of cough syrups and conduct laboratory tests to identify and weed out harmful medicines from the market. He asked the doctors to take note of the central government advisory and refrain from prescribing banned cough syrups for children.

According to the health department order, children below two years shouldn’t be given cough and cold medicines without a doctor’s consultation and general use of these medicines for children below 5 years has been restricted only to the advice of physicians.

Acting on the order of the health department, statewide raids were also started by the officials in the leadership of the additional commissioner, FDA and drug controller Tajbar Singh Jaggi. Jaggi personally inspected drug stores in several areas of Dehradun and kept monitoring the workings of raiding teams in other districts.

Jaggi said, “FDA teams are active across the state. Strict legal action will be taken against the erring manufacturers and vendors.”

Speaking on the issues, the Chief Minister said public health is paramount and no compromise will be made in the safety of children and public health.

“We are committed to ensuring that every medicine sold in the state is safe and of high quality as per set standards. Public health is our top priority, and no complacency on child safety will be tolerated,” said Dhami. He added that the government is also working towards strengthening the quality of drugs.