less than a year after it proposed a ban on packaging of pharmaceutical products in plastic bottles including Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) due to health and environmental hazards, as suggested by one of its scientific panels, the Health Ministry seems to be having second thoughts on the issue.
Following a hue and cry from the plastic packaging industry, the Ministry has now decided to conduct a scientific study yet again but ‘on a wider scale’ to find if PET bottles used in pharma sector are harmful to health or not.
Sources said that the Ministry in its affidavit to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday is likely to make a plea in a case for a larger study to investigate the impact of the PET bottles used for packaging medicinal products. The NGT is hearing a case filed by an NGO Him Jagriti which has sought a ban on plastic packaging citing health and environmental hazards.
In October 2014, the Ministry had issued draft notification signed by Joint Secretary Kl Sharma, stating, “No manufacturer shall use the polyethylene terephthalate or plastic containers in liquid oral formulations for primary packaging of drug formulations for pediatric use, geriatric use and for use in case of pregnant women and women of reproductive age group.”
The proposed ban was based on the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) decision which, in turn, had taken a cue from its scientific expert panel headed by Dr YK Gupta which had recommended phasing out the use of plastic and PET containers for liquid formulations from the market in phases.
The panel had felt that reports of environmental /health hazards because of increasing exposure to endocrine disruptor chemicals known as phthalates etc. were on the rise and children, geriatrics, women in reproductive age group and pregnant women should not be exposed to such hazards.
However, the Ministry has now justified its decision to re-look in the matter saying that the study by group of scientists is proposed to ensure a fair decision.