[india-drug] OTC sales of sedatives

[Raj Vaidya <pharmhin@sancharnet.in>]

OTC sales of sedatives
----------------------

NIMHANS appeals to drugs control depts to stop OTC sales of sedatives

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 09:00 IST 
Nandita Vijay, Bangalore

National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS)
asserts that drugs control departments across the country should
immediately enforce a regulatory mechanism to stop the sale of drugs
like sedatives, anti epileptic, analgesics anxiolytics and other
related products without prescription to control the number of suicide
cases and attempts.

NIMHANS wants drugs controllers to tighten up the action against the
drugs retail sector engaged in such activities and take a tough stand
on the easy availability of drugs over-the-counter. 

Around 1.10 lakh suicides were recorded last year and 10 to 20 times of
that number have attempted suicide. The pattern of suicides revealed
that the use of organophosphorus compounds like metacid, rat poison,
pesticides and DDT were prominent modes of attempting suicide in the
rural and sub-urban parts of the country and that attributed to 65.6
per cent of the cases. Consumption of pharmaceutical substances like
drugs formed 20 per cent of cases compared to drowning, falling from
high-rise buildings and self inflicted methods. Since sale of
organophosphorus compounds cannot be controlled like drugs, NIMHANS is
keen to see that with the support of the drugs controllers, sales of
the drugs could be controlled by questioning during the purchase, Dr. G
Gururaj, professor and head, department of Epidemiology, NIMHANS told
Pharmabiz.com

The common drugs for suicide are anti epileptics (18.6 per cent),
sedatives, (15.9 per cent), anxiolytics (5.9 per cent) and OTC
analgesics and anti inflammatory (16.2 per cent). 

NIMHANS has already held a dedicated workshop for drugs control
departments that was attended by drug inspectors who were apprised on
the issue of ethical drugs going OTC. 

The Karnataka drugs control department has not sent any circular
despite the workshop but there have been several verbal warnings for
violating the law. 

However V Hari Krishnan, president, Bangalore District Druggists and
Chemists Association stated that it was difficult to curb the menace as
drug stores had different people manning the counters. "There have been
occasion, when we insist on the prescription and it has been produced
by the customers, yet suicides have taken place in those families not
by the patient but by other family members. 

It is a difficult task to control the sale of sedatives and that needs
a massive education and awareness drive amongst the drug retail sector
according to a section of chemists who feel that it was their duty to
ensure sale with prescription only. 




Raj Vaidya, M.Pharm,
Community Pharmacist,
Hindu Pharmacy,
Cunha Rivara Road, P.B.No. 149,
Panaji - Goa - India 403001.
Tel : 91-832- 2223176, 2432903 (O), 2463926 (R).
Email : pharmhin@sancharnet.in 



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