'Punjab government ensures provision of quality medicines to people'

The basic objective of introducing amendments in the Drug Act-1976 is to ensure provision of quality medicines to the people of Punjab for the safety of their health, Punjab Minister for Health Khawaja Imran Nazir said. While addressing a press conference here on Monday, Nazir said manufacturing and sale of spurious and substandard medicines would not be tolerated at any cost and such elements would be sent to jail. "Medical stores and chemists have no link with the drug act and they are being misguided for the vested interests," he said.
Nazir said that working on the amendments in drug act was continued for the last one and a half year, during that period, consultation was made with all the stakeholders many times. Earlier, there was a minor fine for preparation of substandard medicines and after amendments in the drug act, 6 months imprisonment and heavy fine could be imposed for manufacturing substandard medicines while sentence of life imprisonment with a heavy fine of millions of rupees could be awarded to the manufacturers of spurious drugs, he said.
Nazir said that prescribed quantity of ingredients are not included in substandard medicines and use of such medicines not only injurious for human lives but also misguide the doctors while prescribing the medicines.
He said that government is ready to provide safety-valve to differentiate between science and crime so that it could be decided whether there is a mistake or intention involved in making any substandard medicine. However, nobody can allow forcing the government to impose his, he added. He said that herbal production units would also be regulated and they have to adopt the good manufacturing practices and registered themselves with the DRAP.
Responding to a question, Nazir said that if other provinces are not taking any step in this regard, this is not our responsibility. He said that Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif wants to provide best quality medicines to a common man which is used by the elite.
He said that Punjab government has many times consulted other provinces for diverting their attention to this very serious issue. He made it clear that nobody would allow taking the law in his hands and closing the medical stores by force. Imran Nazir said that police has been asked to deal with such elements with iron hand. He said that the situation is normalising gradually and big medical stores chains have been opened and it would further improve tomorrow. He assured that government would take every step and utilise all resources to maintain uninterrupted medicines supply to the people.