Expired medicines sold by re-stamping them as unexpired serious matter: HC
New Delhi, Nov 16: Terming as "serious" sale of expired drugs as unexpired by erasing the original manufacturing and expiry dates and re-stamping them, the Delhi High Court Friday said the Centre ought to look into the matter.
A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao said primarily such activities were "happening in Kolkata and Ahmedabad", where expired medicines were re-stamped as un-expired and routed to other places via Delhi.
Therefore, the central authorities have to look into it, the court said and issued notice to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). It also sought their replies to a lawyer's plea seeking directions to the government to curb sale of such medicines.
"It is a serious matter," the court said and listed it for further hearing on March 11.
Advocate Amit Sahni, in his PIL, has claimed that the original manufacturing and expiry dates as well as the maximum retail price (MRP) are erased from expired medicines by the offenders and the drugs are re-stamped as unexpired to sell them.
He said he filed the petition after coming across news reports of such activities taking place in West Bengal, where police had arrested some persons who were reselling expired medicines by changing the expiry dates.
The plea said "expired medicines sold as un-expired not only affect the health of the affected person(s), but the same leads to unnecessary financial burden, which does not serve the purpose in any manner".
It said there was a video on YouTube that showed how the original manufacturing and expiry dates as well as the MRP can be erased by aftershave lotions and then re-stamped with fresh details.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
