The Narcotics Control Board/DRA is still indifferent to the worries of poor patients who have been facing shortage of important daily use drugs across the country for months.
Sources informed that during the last quota allocation meeting, the board allocated only two multinational pharmaceutical companies 2,000 kilogram pseudo ephedrine against their requirements of 29,000 Kg. ‘That allocation of pseudo ephedrine was just 25 percent of our requirements, while one pharmaceutical company that makes cough and cold syrups has not been allocated pseudo-ephedrine at all,’ said a representative of a pharmaceutical company. This, he says, is adding to the woes of people who are already facing shortage of many drugs made of narcotic elements like Antifit dm Syrup (cough syrup), Lexotanil (tranquilizer), Relaxin (anti depressant tablets) etc. Also, some drugs that always are in high demand including Zyloric (tablets used in uric acid problem), Thyroxine, and Sancos (cough syrup) are also facing shortage. ‘No doubt, it shows the government’s apathy towards the masses because non-allocation of around 34 narcotic substances heavily affect the making of some 600 drug products in the country, and most important drugs among them include cough syrups and Haemaccel, which is used as a cure in severe cases, while its alternative medicines are Emagel and Solucel that are expensive and imported from Europe,’ he added.
Some very important narcotic ingredients such as pseudo-ephedrine, Temazepam, Codeine, Buprenorphine, Ephedrine, Lorazepam, etc. are very crucial to be allocated timely at the start of a year in order not to have any shortage of them, especially in far flung areas of the country where winters stay bit long. Low allocation of such ingredients results in the shortage of anti-anxiety, anti-depression, psycholytic drugs, cough and cold syrups, epileptic drugs, sedatives/hypnotics for sleep disorders, anxiety disorders and depression, tranquilizers/antidepressants for depression and anxiety, and narcotic analgesics for pain etc.
It is to be noted that narcotic analgesics are effective cure for bone/joint disorders and cancer as they increase the quality of life of the patient, and their unavailability leads the physician to give the patient heavy doses of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), which result in complications like hypertension, renal impairment and gastrointestinal perforations that could lead to death.
It is strange that the government is not allocating the required amount of pseudo ephedrine to the companies which is imported in the country to the tune of 60000-70000 Kilograms, and that is not only consumed with complete record but even the excess substance is kept available for any surprise audit by NCB.
The representative lamented that the board has created an iffy situation both for the pharmaceutical companies and patients. ‘How come the government will be able to deal with the panic-like situation when a severe shortage of such important drugs would lead masses to react violently,’ he questioned.
