Over-the-counter sale of ‘dangerous’ pills after their delisting by Centre

Hyderabad: Months after the Union Health ministry dropped 26 drugs from the national list of essential medicines (NLEM), several medical stores in the city are still selling them over the counter. They are "not aware" these were delisted.

Nine out of the 11 stores this correspondent visited for these drugs did not ask for the doctor’s prescription, while one said these were out of stock.

The central government removed these drugs amid a fear that these could cause cancer. When asked how an almost-banned drug is being sold without a prescription, the pharmacist at Ramkote said that he knew nothing about the delisting of the drug.

Both Rehaan Ali (a student studying music) and his cousin suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). They have resorted to popping Zinetac 150 and Rantac 150 for relief from acidity. Both these tablets contain ranitidine, one of the most popular yet most-controversial drugs feared to be a probable human carcinogen.

"It’s a pity. Why should someone have to Google if the drug they're taking is safe or not? Why are such drugs sold in the market even after a delisting," said Rehaan.

The 26 excluded medicines include popular stuff such as atenolol (used to control high BP), nicotinamide (used to treat Vitamin B3 deficiency, acne and diarrhoea), antibiotic capreomycin and erythromycin, cetrimide(for burns), chlorpheniramine (for allergies), norethisterone (birth control), and white petrolatum (vaseline), among others.

Dr Jagadeesh Kumar, senior physician and internal medicine specialist, said he was not aware of the removal of these drugs from the list.

“Not many know that even some cough syrups they buy and consume have banned combinations of drugs," he said and added that the ‘infodemic’ that Google, WhatsApp and YouTube can cause is scarier than one might think,” he added.