PESHAWAR, May 19: Several drugs have gone missing from the market, but are being sold in black market at exorbitant prices, chemists and doctors told Dawn. A psychiatrist said an important drug, Chlorpromazine, was out of market, causing the patients to suffer.

Though alternative drugs are available but their prices are extremely high compared to the drug in question whose one tablet costs less than 50 paisa. Chemists said that Angisid, used by heart patients, also was not available.

Similarly, Cafergot used for treatment of migraine is also not available. The problem has been further accentuated by the non-availability of a substitute drug. Chemists said that Ventolin Solution is also not available in the market which has created problems for asthma patients.

Similarly, the non-availability of Cafergot tablets, prescribed by gynaecologists for women, has landed patients in trouble. People suffering from diabetes also have a cause for worry owing to non-availability of Daonil tablets which are consumed by the patients regularly to keep their sugar level within normal limits.

The shortage of Adalat capsules, a cardiologist said, had also been causing problems to heart patients. According to chemists, the non-availability of a time-tested drug Deltacortril has been troubling patients.

The original price of the drug is Rs400 per 1000 tablets, but due to shortage it is now being sold at Rs1,000 in black market. A local physician said that he had written several letters to the Ministry of Health, Islamabad regarding the hardships of the patients, but to no avail.