Mumbai, 22 May, 2013: To curb over-the-counter sale of addictive cough syrups, the food and drug administration (FDA) has asked Narcotics Control Board (NCB) to regulate supply of codeine phosphate.
Codeine phosphate is a key narcotic ingredient used in the manufacture of cough syrups. It can become an addiction if consumed in large quantities.
FDA has suspended licences of 323 pharmacies and cancelled that of 28, besides registering five FIRs, in the last one year for selling such cough syrups over-the-counter.
"The average dose of a codeine-based cough syrup is 5-15 ml but a drug-addict may consume an entire bottle. This is because such cough syrups are so easily available without a prescription," said FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade.
NCB, he said, controlled allocation of codeine phosphate to medicine manufacturing companies.
"We have written to NCB to reduce the amount of codeine phosphate allotted to each company. We have been cracking down on errant pharmacies," he said.
FDA suspects drug manufacturers illegally divert large consignments of cough syrup containing codeine phosphate to buyers in other states for non-medical purposes.
"A large consignment of a cough syrup manufactured by a reputed brand, which was supposed to be delivered in Thane, was re-routed to Uttar Pradesh this year. This is a serious issue," said Zagade.
FDA began the crackdown after wholesalers in the state were found illegally sending Corex and Phensedyl, manufactured by Pfizer and Abbott labs, worth Rs 1.1 crore to other states.
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