The Hindu Business Line : Kill fake pills

It is quite baffling why a suspense thriller like the Da Vinci Code evokes a shrill response from Central and State governments, ignoring more lethal realities of people's lives.

For instance, spurious drugs, which seasoned pharma industry hands call the vehicle for a `perfect murder'; a fear everyone who pops the pill needs to watch out for. They leave no tell-tale marks, making it difficult to establish whether the patient died of a spurious drug or the disease. In fact, makers of spurious drugs have been described by previous Health Ministers as the `merchants of death', who deserved no less than the death penalty.

But this fire seems to died, as the Bill to tackle the trade of fakes lapsed when the previous government was unseated. The death penalty has now been converted into a life sentence and the present government is looking to bring in other changes in the penalty by amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Health authorities hope to increase the fine amount and make the offence cognisable and non-bailable.

But it has been over two years since the old Bill on spurious drugs lapsed and the country does not even have a number on the spurious drugs business. Earlier industry estimates put it at an alarming one in four pills sold — trashed by Health officials three years ago, even as they set up another committee to establish the exact prevalence.

But the problem is rampant and extends across categories, fast and slow moving, tablets, syrups, injectibles and so on. From right under the nose of the Centre in Delhi to pockets in many States, the fake trade thrives through established distribution networks. And yet the authorities have been slow in bringing in norms that will not just rap the fake drug maker, but also root out the distribution system. Three years after the spurious drug problem was laid bare, Health Ministry officials can only hope that the proposed spurious-drug related amendment gets passed in the coming monsoon session of Parliament.

Contrast this with the Government reactions over the intrigues of the Da Vinci Codes, Rang De Basantis or the Fanaas. Surely, three years is enough time for the Centre to realise that unlike the films, in the real world a fake pill can, in fact, kill.

Jyothi Datta

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