BENGALURU: Despite the state government’s directive to not sell cough syrups to treat children aged 0-2 years, pharmacies across Bengaluru were found flouting the rules.
TNIE approached several pharmacies in the city, all of them in prominent or bustling areas, seeking cough syrup for an ailing two-year-old.
Only two of them refused
According to the health advisory from Department of Health & Family Welfare Services (Government of Karnataka) issued on October 6, “Cough and cold syrups should not be prescribed or dispensed to children below 2 years of age. For children between 2 to 5 years of age, such medications should generally be avoided, unless clearly indicated and prescribed after proper clinical evaluation.”
Little heed has been paid to statute number 7 of the advisory, which warns, “Random inspections may be conducted to ensure compliance with the above instructions.”
TNIE’s reality check was limited to areas with high footfall. Several pharmacies were asked to provide the same thing: a bottle of cough syrup for a two-year-old child having dry cough for a couple of days.
When TNIE approached a medical store on Old Airport Road, the manager produced an “ayurvedic” cough syrup. “Besides the kid, you can take it too,” he said.
Another pharmacy some distance away offered a bottle of cough syrup, a clearly allopathic concoction, proving that the distinction between ayurveda and allopathy stands moot when it comes to peddling them without prescription.
A drug store on 80 Feet Road (near Sony World Signal), similarly, provided cough syrup without hesitation. The case with another shop in Ulsoor was the same.
A pharmacist on St. John’s Road offered a dosage involving three syrups taken in conjunction. This is in direct violation of statute number 3 of the advisory, which states: “Also, multi-drug combinations (irrational combinations, oral bronchodilators, cough suppressants) should be avoided.” All of these three syrups, and the other syrups offered by the aforementioned pharmacies, bore the telltale warning in a red label classifying them as Schedule H drugs not to be sold without a prescription.
However, two pharmacies which refused to sell cough syrups upon knowing the age of the hypothetical patient were interestingly outlets part of popular healthcare franchises. The manager of one of these outlets in Vannarpet Layout showed commendable awareness. “If the child is sick, take him to a doctor instead of buying a bottle of cough syrup. If you read the papers, you’ll see how dangerous cough syrups are for children,” he said.
Apart from these, three pharmacies were visited without revealing the age of the hypothetical patient. All three offered Schedule H cough syrups without asking for any prescription.
