People's Democracy

FMRAI To Wage War Against Spurious Drugs

D P Dubey

ON July 10, the Hindustan Times reported the following: “Health minister Sushma Swaraj wants death sentence for manufacturers of spurious drugs. In a close door meeting with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Swaraj announced mass murder for the sake of profit should be treated only by one law, death penalty.” 

This reminds one of the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s statement that, in independent India, food adulterators would be hanged by the nearest lamp posts in broad daylight. Several decades have passed by and much water has flown down the Ganges, but no hanging of food adulterators by the nearest lamp posts in broad daylight has been reported. Rather, many such criminals are freely moving about and have gone up the social ladder.

Even though the union law ministry does not see any feasibility of what law Mrs Sushma Swaraj visualises, we should welcome the statement. But then the question arises: whether the government is at all serious about the issue? Does it really have any desire to punish the offenders who are committing “mass murder for the sake of profit” by promoting spurious and substandard drugs?  

At the moment the issue is governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 that provides for stringent punishment to those manufacturing, promoting and selling fake and substandard drugs. The Drug Control Authority under the health ministry is the appropriate body for dealing with this issue. But will the government tell how many promoters or manufacturers of spurious drugs have so far been meted out stringent punishment under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940? 

Then, why did the union health minister made such a bombastic announcement? Did not she want to derive political mileage from the issue and increase her government’s credibility before the assembly and Lok Sabha polls?

As per a rough estimate, nearly 20 per cent of the Indian pharmaceutical market is in the grip of spurious drugs. The retail pharma market in the country is of around Rs 20,000 crore. That means drugs worth Rs 4,000 crore are of the spurious variety. Nay, this proportion is growing. The Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and the CII have already accepted this fact. As per a CII estimation, spurious drugs worth Rs 2,500 crore are annually thrown into the market from Bhagirath Palace, the wholesale market of drugs in Delhi, under the very nose of the union health ministry. (According to a recent newspaper report, Aligarh has of late emerged as the main centre from where such drugs are being brought into Delhi and the nearby areas, and pushed into circulation --- Editor.)

Moreover, along with the spurious varieties, medicines from reputed drug companies are getting mixed up in the black market for drugs. For, some of the drug companies are resorting to this, and other unfair trade practices, in order to sell their products. No investigation has so far been conducted and no action taken to punish the drug companies that are indulging in such criminal offences.

This is despite the fact that the Federation of Medical & Sales Representatives Associations of India (FMRAI), its affiliates in the states and many other organisations have repeatedly drawn the attention of the central and state governments to this menace, and demanded stern action against the manufacturers and promoters of spurious and substandard drugs. During the last 10 years, the FMRAI’s appeals to the central government to institute a CBI inquiry into the issue have fallen on the deaf ears of those sitting at the top. From time to time, some sporadic raids have indeed been launched, but more for public consumption; no serious and planned effort has so far been made to curb the menace. Thus the central government has all along displayed a callous attitude about putting this heinous crime to an end.     

The conclusion is obvious: unless the people organise and raise their united voice against the menace, the government is not likely to take action for the sake of protecting the masses from exploitation and the avoidable deaths caused by these drugs.

In order to carry forward the struggle against spurious and substandard drugs, the FMRAI, an all-India organisation of medical and sales representatives, has decided to run a mass awareness campaign in 300 cities and towns of the country and to observe an all-India Protest Day on September 24 coming. On October 3, the medical and sales representatives will stage militant demonstrations in front of the health ministry offices in the states and, some time in early November, they will take out a march to the union health ministry office in New Delhi.

(D P Dubey is general secretary of the Federation of Medical & Sales Representatives Associations of India -- FMRAI.)