20000119Body to check spurious drugs, food items demanded

Recorder Report

Lahore: The Chairman of Highnoon Laboratories, Jawaid Tariq Khan, has demanded of the government to establish an independent food and drug authority, to check the growing menance of sub-standard and spurious medicines.

In a press statement issued here on Tuesday, he said that the proposed authority must be answerable to the federal cabinet and responsible for checking of adulteration in all items of human consumption including prices of medicines and licensing of pharmaceutical manufacturers.

He said that the existence of parallel market of spurious and sub-standard drugs, massive adulteration in items of human consumption like food and beverages is an open secret fact.

The registration of drugs in different categories that are life saving and essential, over the counter sale of drugs and decisions pertaining to pricing of medicines, approval of alternate systems of medication, ensuring of good manufacturing practice, as laid down by the WHO and licensing of the pharmaceutical manufacturing should fall under an independent food and drug administration authority on the line of FDA of the USA and other countries, he added.

He said that the task of the Ministry of Health in all the developed and some of the developing countries, is to provide adequate preventive and curative healthcare facilities to the citizens. The Ministry of Health in those countries regulate the healthcare institutions, falling in their jurisdiction and provide guidance to provincial governments, he added.