Increased circulation of substandard drugs and sale of expired medicines from the shelves of druggist and chemist outlets across the State are set to jeopardise Odisha’s fragile health indices.
Sample the enormity. From a low of below 1 per cent drug samples testing substandard in 2012-13, the rate has more than doubled to around 2.5 per cent in 2014-15 and 2015-16 till June. Data with Drugs Controller here reveals that around 21 drugs were found substandard from a total of over 940 samples tested till June 2015.
It has made around five seizures so far this financial year. However, presence of expired drugs at chemist’s counters reported till 2013-14 in the State has not been detected this year so far. It needs mentioning that in 2013-14 the State Drugs Controller has seized around 37 items of expired drugs from various counters in the State.
Under Rules 65 (17) of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1945, drug inspectors while inspecting premises of retailers and wholesalers counter check and confirm that no expired medicines are stocked along with other medicines. The Act empowers the authorities to cancel or suspend the licence of a chemist if found with storing few units of expired medicines.
However, information available with State Drugs Controller here shows that prosecution has been launched against the violators in State. This shows circulation of recycled drugs (expired drugs with new label) in State. Rules 65 (17) of the Act empowers the authorities to prosecute such violators when found involved in recycling of drugs.
Sources in Chemists and Druggists Association indicate that retailers in rural and semi-urban centres especially in southern, western, northern and in Jagatsingpur – Paradip region still sell such expired or recycled stocks in hush-hush manner as they fail to recover the cost of expired drugs while returning them to manufacturer. “The medical representatives with attractive offers lure them to buy such products. If they fail in selling, then only 20 per cent of the cost price is returned,” said a druggist.
He further added that the modus operandi of pushing drugs past their expiry date is selling truncated strips to buyers – that means not selling the full strip with batch number and expiry date being enumerated on it. Significantly, many chemists even in Bhubaneswar still not issue bills to customers with details such as name of drug, its cost, quantity purchased, batch numbers and date of expiry. Such a measure could help the authorities to ensure tracking of medicines from the pharmacies and prove effective in detecting sale of expired drugs, said a former State Drug Controller. Moreover, to crack-down on expired drug sale, there is every need to augment the intelligence wing of Drugs Controller, he added.