Data On Banned Drugs In Market: Government Updates Parliament (image: Pixabay)
New Delhi: The Health Ministry on Tuesday, December 10 informed the Parliament about the spurious and banned drugs seized in the country in the last three years. In written response, the data was tabled by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel while answering questions raised by Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ramji Lal Suman.
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Minister stated that as part of surveillance and monitoring activities, the Drugs Inspectors draw drug samples from the supply chain at regular frequency for quality checks. If the sample is found to be Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) or Spurious/Adulterated/Misbranded, actions are taken according to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and rules below that.
Minister shared a data where information received from various States/Union Territories Drugs Controllers, regarding number of drug samples reported Not of Standard Quality/spurious/adulterated and enforcement action taken over the last three years have been denoted.
“A list of drugs of various companies, which are declared Not of Standard Quality/ Spurious/Misbranded/ Adulterated by the Central Drugs Testing Laboratories are regularly uploaded on the website of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) under the heading
of Drug Alert (www.cdsco.gov.in),” Minister has said.
Manufacture of Spurious/Adulterated/Not of Standard Quality drugs is a punishable offence under the provisions of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940, Minister said and concerned licensing authorities are empowered to take action in such cases. “Isolated complaints regarding such drugs as and when received are investigated along with the licensing authorities concerned for taking action as per the provisions of the Drugs
& Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, 1945,” Minister added.
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In a gazette notification dated on August 21, 2024, the government has banned as many as 156 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs that are often administered as painkillers, multivitamins and antibiotics, for fever, cold, allergies, and pain.
