With no let up in misuse of Oxytocin drug for extraction of milk from milch animals across the country, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) is all set to further tighten the norms to regulate its sale.
The Drug Technical Advisory Board of the Health Ministry has recently recommended that retail chemists should be asked to maintain records of sale of the drug to ensure curb of the misuse of the drug which not only has been leaving the animals barren but also having harmful side effects on the consumers of such milk.
The Board after deliberations has recommended that in order to curb the illegitimate sale by the chemists, a new clause may be added to the already issued notification stating that the supply of the oxytocin shall be recorded by the retail chemist at the time of supply giving the name and address of the prescriber, the name of the patient and the quantity supplied. The records will have to be maintained for three years for inspection.
Stricter norms were being felt after it was noted that the last year’s move had not helped when the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) tried to restrict sale of the drugs by asking the manufacturers to supply drug only to the manufacturers licensed for manufactur of formulations and the formulations meant for veterinary use are sold to the veterinary hospitals only.
Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, MP alleged that blatant usage of the drug not only made cows barren, but also lowers the life span of the animal, thus causing economic loss to the owner in the long run. It is being widely used in the dairy industry despite there being a ban on its sale, except by a prescription from a registered medical practitioner.Moreover, ingestion of Oxytocin-laced milk can cause serious hormonal complications in consumers, she warned.
After deliberations DTAB members while noting that the legitimate manufacture and sale of the drugs cannot be stopped because of its role in the medical field both for humans and animals agreed to tighten the existing norms.