KARACHI, Feb 16: The College of Family Medicine Pakistan has apprehended that government’s indifference to unlicensed sale and marketing of quick-fix medicines and ‘magic herbs’ may become a cause of harm to public health.

Secretary General of the college Dr Aziz Khan Tank on Friday said that medicine market was flooded with the so-called quick-fix medicines for weight loss, health and beauty, anti-depressant, fat burners, osteoarthritis, eczema, diabetes, hepatitis, asthma, tuberculosis, height, hair, etc., without any legal authority.

Products are produced and marketed, without mention of their formulation and contra-indications and people purchase and experience the medicines without knowing that how these products could give the claimed results and at what cost.

“It’s time the government moved for having certain sets of legislations to be implemented in a foolproof manner, fully ensuring the fine prints of the products. In the early ’70s, a “Sindh Magic Remedies Act” draft was prepared with the objectives to curb quackery and dubious products in every field of medicines and practices, but that could not materialise for reasons best known to the government,” he added.

In a separate press statement, Dr Tank also appealed to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, the All Pakistan Newspaper Society and the Council for Newspapers Employees and newspapers and journals to discourage publication of misleading programmes and advertisements on healthcare and related products.

According to him, the unethical promotion of these products and the so-called practitioners do not only fleece the poor and uneducated people, but also cause harm to their health.

PMA: The Pakistan Medical Association has appealed to Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim to implement the new Services Structure for doctors in Sindh, as has been done in Punjab.

In a letter to the CM, General Secretary of the PMA Karachi Dr Qaisar Sajjad said that doctors in Sindh were faced with serious economic problems. The junior doctors and postgraduate students are getting lowest salary compared to other provinces of Pakistan while their seniors are waiting for promotion and working without any increment for many years. He urged the chief minister to revise the service structure of doctors in Sindh at least in accordance with the one offered to doctors in Punjab.