Yesterday I went to the pharmacy to pick up cough syrup and few lozenges for my throat. The pharmacist, incidentally the pharmacy is attached to a hospital in Vasant Kunj, gave me Cofdex manufactured by Cipla. Back home I took a dose as recommended and I must say it was good syrup. Within few hours the pain in my throat had eased. It was at this point I examined the bottle and found Schedule H warning printed on the bottle. Essentially, the pharmacist cannot sell this cough syrup without prescription. I had no prescription.
In my lab we routinely use antibiotics like ampicillin and ciprofloxicin. We are supposed to purchase these antibiotics from sources like Sigma which sell them for laboratory use only. You cannot consume it. However, they are expensive and tedious to obtain. When I first started my lab I did try to get it from a chemical company but later found out that both can be purchased from our pharmacist. My jaw dropped because in the US antibiotics are sold only under prescription. I was told here at the pharmacist in the campus one can obtain antibiotics without prescription. They are cheap and available at all times. We get it from him.
There was a hue and cry when the first report of NDM-1 strain emerged. The government predictably wanted to deny the existence of such resistant bacteria in India. Two days the Center for Science and Environment has pointed out rampant usage of antibiotics in poultry industry. The newspapers pointed out that we can become resistant by consuming these chickens while CSE called for regulation.
However, it is all a case of missing the woods for the trees. As long as antibiotics and other prescription drugs are sold over the counter and there is no appropriate punishment for the violators, we can shout ourselves hoarse from the rooftops but nothing will happen. The abuse will continue. The problems is also compounded by the doctors who prescribe antibiotics for viral fever and the people who expect antibiotics for every ailment. Further, there are people who will not complete the prescribed course. All this is a healthy ground for emergence of antibiotic resistance.
The onus is now on the Health Minister. Will he implement tough laws to deal with this menace and ban the sale of prescription drugs over the counter?
In my lab we routinely use antibiotics like ampicillin and ciprofloxicin. We are supposed to purchase these antibiotics from sources like Sigma which sell them for laboratory use only. You cannot consume it. However, they are expensive and tedious to obtain. When I first started my lab I did try to get it from a chemical company but later found out that both can be purchased from our pharmacist. My jaw dropped because in the US antibiotics are sold only under prescription. I was told here at the pharmacist in the campus one can obtain antibiotics without prescription. They are cheap and available at all times. We get it from him.
There was a hue and cry when the first report of NDM-1 strain emerged. The government predictably wanted to deny the existence of such resistant bacteria in India. Two days the Center for Science and Environment has pointed out rampant usage of antibiotics in poultry industry. The newspapers pointed out that we can become resistant by consuming these chickens while CSE called for regulation.
However, it is all a case of missing the woods for the trees. As long as antibiotics and other prescription drugs are sold over the counter and there is no appropriate punishment for the violators, we can shout ourselves hoarse from the rooftops but nothing will happen. The abuse will continue. The problems is also compounded by the doctors who prescribe antibiotics for viral fever and the people who expect antibiotics for every ailment. Further, there are people who will not complete the prescribed course. All this is a healthy ground for emergence of antibiotic resistance.
The onus is now on the Health Minister. Will he implement tough laws to deal with this menace and ban the sale of prescription drugs over the counter?
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