AAP MP Flags Spurious Drugs Crisis, Seeks National Quality Authority as Paracetamol Fails CDSCO Tests
New Delhi: AAP MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney on Friday raised the issue of spurious medicines and expressed serious concern over the rising threat of substandard and counterfeit medicines in the country.
During the zero hour in the Rajya Sabha, he said the issue of manufacture, sale and distribution of sub-standard drugs and medicines in India is quite an alarming matter.
Sahney demanded the setting up of the National Pharmaceutical Quality Authority to ensure uniform quality standards at the manufacturing and sale points.
He highlighted that last year, 203 pharmaceutical companies were found selling sub-standard and fortified drugs, and 36 per cent of the inspected drug factories were shut down, which were not meeting quality standards.
Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation’s (CDSCO) tests in 20 states found that 10 per cent more medicines were found to be of sub-standard quality, the AAP MP from Punjab highlighted.
The medicines included paracetamol, he said.
The majority of these companies were from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and the majority of these small- and medium-sector firms.
There were reports of deaths of hundreds of children due to having cough syrups, he said.
Sahney also added that last year, over 1,500 samples were confiscated by the drug controller and some medicines were found to have materials like chalk powder, etc.
He said three lakh people die every year due to viral fever and taking antibiotic medicines, which are easily available over the counter, like toffee and chocolates, without any prescription.
In January to June last year, 1,500 samples of spurious medicines were taken into possession by the drug controller.
There is a pressing need to modernise and strengthen the Central Drug Controller (CDSCO), he stressed.
