CRCP seeks fair dead on pharmaceutical scene for the consumer
Islamabad: Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan CRCP expresses concern over the non-availability of essential medicines, and sale of banned, substandard drugs in market and health institutions.

CRCP says that national and multinational medicine manufacturers are bound at the time of registration of any medicine, according to the Drug Act 1976,to produce sufficient quantity of the medicines to ensure regular and adequate supply in the market and the manufacturing of drug shall not, without the prior approval of the registration board, be discontinued for a period which may result in its shortage. However the non-availability of the cheaper life savings drugs and the sale of banned harmful drugs tells a different story.

CRCP has surveyed and received complaints from consumers that life saving drugs for heart and cancer patients have disappeared from the market making their lives miserable. This speaks volumes of the apathy of the agencies responsible for the regulation and checks on the availability of medicines and the callousness of the profit hungry drug manufacturers. The medicine manufacturers, distributors and retailers are using unethical business tactics against the helpless consumers either to gain inflated profits, or to dispose off substandard, time barred and banned medicines. Such malpractices cause
severe problems to the consumers.

CRCP observed that the production of 18 different medicine has been suspended by national and multi-national companies to create an artificial shortage, recently, the essential medicines including Thyroxin, Angised, Isodil, Dijoxin and some others for the treatment of cancer have completely disappeared from the market. This has caused great nuisance to the consumers and helped the sellers to charge higher prices of the helpless consumer.

Another agonising fact about the pharmaceutical scene in Pakistan is the emergence of many bogus companies, which are selling many spurious medicines of the type and a huge sum of these medicines is available in the market. Moreover, the sale of banned injurious and reaction oriented drugs has confounded the already hazardous situation. For example, drugs tike Amineptineptine, survector, Terfanadine, Bronal, Fenade, Fendina, Meldane, Nebral, Talegrin,Tedane,Terfan, and terfenal which have been banned long ago in countries like France .USA, UK, Greece and many other developed countries are being marketed and sold in Pakistan to the utter disregard of the morality and law of the country. Although the health ministry has banned these medicines acting promptly, yet, these medicines are being sold in the market.

CRCP maintains that a healthy life devoid of exploitation is the basic and inalienable right of every individual. The drug manufacturers and druggists should not play havoc with the life and health of the people just for inflating their already over brimming coffers. Moreover the health ministry should not be a silent spectator to the whole situation and try their best to ensure the availability of these essential medicines to mitigate the pain of the ailing lots.