Stronger Regulations to Combat Illicit Drug Use in India

Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastav emphasizes the importance of selling medicines only through prescriptions to prevent narcotic drugs from being diverted for illicit use. State regulatory bodies are urged to strengthen standards, following coordinated efforts by CDSCO to conduct risk-based inspections that have led to corrective actions.

Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastav has called on state drug regulators to ensure that medicines are sold strictly through prescriptions, aiming to prevent the diversion of narcotic drugs for trafficking or other illegal uses.

During a recent meeting focused on the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, Srivastav highlighted the need for robust regulatory standards to ensure that only quality and effective medicines circulate nationwide. She also praised the work of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and state drug regulators, which recently conducted risk-based inspections of 905 drug manufacturing and testing firms—resulting in 694 actions.

This initiative coincides with the Drugs Controller General of India's (DCGI) recent prohibition on the production and export of certain drug combinations following reports of an opioid crisis in West Africa tied to a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm.