ACCORDING to the ministry of health, 60pc people are educated in Pakistan. I request the health minister to order pharma companies that advisory slip about the medicine should be clearly printed in Urdu and English to enable people to read the instruction easily.

This should apply to both local and multinational companies. The problem is that about 40pc of people who are not educated, as well as those few who educated, are not able to read the instruction slip.

Last week when my child suffered from a week bone problem, the doctor suggested a two-week course. However, he recovered in a week. The extra dosage caused a cough and stomach problem.

I consulted another doctor who, on reading the drug advisory slip, asked me to stop the medicine at once. He suggested another medicine. If the advisory slip had been printed in a simple and legible way, anyone could have read and saved oneself from further complications.

Adil Awan

Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2017