SCIENCE COLUMN
Gives life or
“Doctors give drugs of which they know little, into bodies, of which they know less, for diseases of
which they know nothing at all.” Voltaire
Madhuparna Bhattacharjee
Suffering from common cold and influ-
enza? I am almost sure that you have al-
ready started taking D-cold or Vicks Ac-
tion 500. Am I wrong? In general we are
of the idea, especially during this time
of the year with its fluctuating tempera-
ture and weather that we need not con-
sult a doctor for a simple fever. Why pay
the physician his fees when we already
know the required medicine for fever?
But are you taking the right medicine?
Beware; you might be cured of fever,
but with some damages to other organs
of the body.
Do you think we need to have a re-
ality show or something like Ripley’s
Believe it or Not to make people aware
that India has become a hub of banned
drugs? You will be shocked to know the
list of drugs which we consume and are
actually banned in other countries of
the world. These drugs are selling like
hot cakes in India. Ghastly, isn’t it? But
40 July 08
takes life?
true.
Surprisingly, many of us are aware
of the fact that few very commonly used
medicines are banned, yet we tend to
buy them from pharmacies, in which
they are readily available. Common
man may find it hard to know about the
ban imposed. But, what are the doctors
and the pharmacists there for? Despite
knowing about the harmful effects of
few compositions in medicines, why
do doctors continue to prescribe them?
What about the pharmacists too? Aren’t
they aware of the ban? Why do they give
such medicines without the prescription
of a doctor to anyone and everyone who
ask for it? A volley of questions arises in
ones mind. The biggest question here is,
who has the answer?
The reason, most people say, is lack
of awareness. While doctors in big hos-
pitals are aware of the ban on the drugs,
many private practitioners do not keep
track of the latest developments.
The Government of India vide no-
tifications published in the Gazette of
India vide G.S.R. No. 578 (E) dated
23/07/1983 and subsequent amend-
ments, made under Section 26 A of
Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 has
prohibited the manufacture, sale and
distribution of the following categories
of fixed dose combinations which do not
have any therapeutic justification or are
likely to involve risk to human beings:
Various reports suggest that India
is one of the very few countries that ex-
port large amount of various fake drugs
to different parts of the world. Many of
these drugs which have been banned in “Earlier, countries such as Finland,
developed countries are easily available Spain and Portugal suspended the
in India. use of nimesulide in the wake of
Let us take a few examples here. reports of its serious adverse effects
Nimesulide, a non-steroidal anti-inflam- on the liver. Even countries such as
matory drug has been reported to cause Bangladesh have banned Nimesu-
liver damage. It is still widely used in In- lide for both adults and children, but
dia commonly for pain relief and fever, the Indian government has turned a
although it was approved for use here in blind eye to the entire issue.”
1994 for painful inflammatory muscu- Dr C M Gulati
loskeletal disorders. This medicine was Editor, Monthly Index of Medical
Specialties (MIMS)
year, one of Italy’s leading dailies, Cor-
riere della Sera and few other media
houses reported that a top-ranking of-
ficial at Italy’s medicines agency AIFA
had been filmed by police while accept-
ing bribes from employees of pharma-
Nimesulide
banned mainly due to its hepatotoxicity.
Further, very recently, in May this
SCIENCE COLUMN
ceutical companies. The money was
allegedly being paid to ensure that cer-
tain drugs (nimesulide-containing Aulin
being most prominent) would be spared
scrutiny from the drugs dogwatch.
A second example that can been cit-
ed is that of Cisapride, sold in the market
Cisapride
with brand names such as Ciza and Sys-
pride. This drug is usually administered
in cases of acidity and constipation. But
how many of us are aware that this too is
banned? Cases of serious heart arrhyth-
mia, including ventricular fibrillation,
ventricular arrhythmia, cardiac arrest
and sudden death have been observed
in people taking Cisapride (Propulsid).
Besides affecting the heart, its adverse
effects on the nervous system, like head-
aches, dizziness and fatigue have also
been reported.
July 08 41