Aiming to control pharmaceutical drug abuse, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, OP Soni, on Friday directed all the drugs control officers to check indiscriminate sale of habit forming drugs.
“All the drugs which cause drug addiction among people, especially among the young generation, should be restricted and only their careful sale will be allowed,” said Soni. He asked them to keep a close tab on stocking, sale and distribution of habit-forming drugs in
the state.
The minister said it has been observed recently that Pregablin containing capsules and tablets are being misused by the youth for intoxication. So, strict directions have been issued to the drugs control officers of food and drugs administration to carry out intensive checkings and strict action be initiated against the firms under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act wherever these products are found stocked without proper records, informed Soni.
“We need to ensure that the habit-forming drugs are being made and sold for purely legitimate use,” he said adding chemists associations are being asked to come forward to cooperate with the State agencies to weed out this menace of habit forming drugs. Pertinently, the department is already reaching out to the public by organising seminars and meetings with chemist associations and students of various schools and colleges and making them aware about ill-effects of intoxicants under the ‘Roadmap for 100 days’.