Principal Secretary, Health, V.K.Subburaj on Saturday said the government would ensure that the gang involved in the expired drugs and fake drugs racket would have to face appropriate penal action.
He hoped that the action initiated against this group would be a deterrent for others. “The main accused involved in the recent drug haul case has apparently been operating for many years, working in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. It is appalling that he managed to do so for that long,” Mr. Subburaj told mediapersons in a chat after inaugurating TAPICON 2010, the conference of the Association of Physicians of India, Tamil Nadu State Chapter.
The Central government had announced a cash reward for informants who can provide tips on similar fake drug rackets or unethical practices in the manufacture, distribution and sale of pharmaceutical products. The State government would also provide a reward henceforth, he added.
“Already, we are getting a lot of anonymous letters and raids are conducted constantly. Some of them are genuine, but a lot of them do not bear out in the investigation,” he said. “There are over 42,000 pharmacies in the State, not counting those in the hospitals, and it is not easy to keep tabs on all of them. Also, it is difficult to identify fake products, as some of the racketeers take great pains to ensure that the packaging and colour of the product is stunningly similar to the original,” he said.
Sometimes a chemical analysis was warranted to prove that a particular product was fake. “We are keen to rid the State of all fake and expired drugs and make sure that all medicines being sold in Tamil Nadu are genuine and of good quality,” Mr. Subburaj said.
Information had been sent to all District Collectors to conduct a drive against quackery. As prescribed in the Indian Medical Association's code of ethics, all registered practitioners should display registration information on prominently displayed signages in front of their clinics or hospitals, he added.
Over 500 delegates participated in the two-day workshop that was inaugurated on Saturday. Muralidhar S.Rao, all India President, API, who released the conference souvenir, said the relationship between the State chapters and the national body of the API should be cordial. The State chapters play an important role in disseminating the latest information to doctors who otherwise may not have access to it.
S.S.Lakshmanan, organising secretary, TAPICON, said the conference was to take to the members the latest information about medical and technological breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
S.N.Narasingan, organising chairman, said the API – Chennai Chapter had trained over 1,500 post graduate students from all over the country as part of the All India Post Graduate Training programme.
A.R.Vijayakumar, outgoing chairman, API-TNSC, and Vijay Viswanathan, incoming chairman, presented reports.
