NEW DELHI, Feb 25: Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastav emphasized the importance of ensuring that medications are dispensed only through prescriptions to prevent the diversion of narcotic drugs for trafficking or illegal activities. During a meeting held with state drug regulators to discuss the misuse of psychotropic drugs under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan initiative and to enhance the regulatory capabilities of states and UTs on Monday, she stated that it is vital to implement robust regulatory standards to guarantee that only quality and effective medicines are available in the market.
In her address, Srivastava urged the state drug regulators to strictly monitor the prescription-based sales of medicines to safeguard against the misuse of narcotic drugs.
She praised the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and the state drug regulators for completing risk-based inspections across 905 drug manufacturing and testing facilities, resulting in 694 enforcement actions taken thus far.
This meeting occurred after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) banned the production and export of all combinations of pain relief medications tapentadol and carisoprodol, following reports of unapproved formulations being exported to West African nations by a pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai, which contributed to an opioid crisis in that region. (Agencies)
