LAHORE: Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafiq has said new legislation is being carried out to curb the manufacturing and sale of fake and substandard medicines.
Addressing an orientation seminar regarding the new laws being enacted on Saturday, he said amendments had been proposed to the Drug Act 1976, to make it more relevant, with stricter punishment and higher penalties recommended for the violators.
Organised by provincial health department at Management and Professional Development Department (MPDD), the seminar was also attended by chief secretary, additional chief secretary, health secretary and a number of health professionals and officials.
On the occasion, Chief Secretary Khizar Hayat Gondal said more capacity-building seminars and training programmes would be organised with the help of MPDD for drug inspectors as well as the private stakeholders.
Prosecution Secretary Ali Murtaza and Law Department Director Mohsin Abbas in their lectures said the definition of fake and substandard medicines had been elaborated in the new clauses of drug Act. They said action had also been proposed against drug inspectors for registering wrong FIRs and collecting incorrect evidences against suspects.
They said the amendments would help ensure quality of medicines, use of required ingredients and maintenance of cold chain.
Drug Testing Laboratories Lahore and Multan directors Dr Jamil Anwar and Dr Siddique Khan talked about the collection of drug samples, methodology, standard operating procedure and technical aspects of analysing the drug samples.
They said a helpline -- 0800-02345 -- had been activated where citizens could register file complaint against the business of spurious or substandard drugs.
Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2015
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