PHOTO: WASEEM NIAZ
The government will start a campaign against quacks and substandard drugs, Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq said on Wednesday.
He was addressing a meeting of Chief Minister’s Task force for Eradication of Fake Drugs (South Punjab) at the Civil Secretariat.
“On the direction of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, elimination of quackery has been ordered alongside the crackdown against substandard and spurious drugs in the province. A campaign will be launched against both these elements,” he said.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health Khawaja Imran Nazir, Additional Chief Secretary Syed Mubashar Raza, Health Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik, Health Services Director General Dr Zahid Pervaiz, Drug Control Additional Secretary Dr Sohail Saqlain and Public Relations Additional Director General Dr Aslam Dogar attended the meeting.
The commissioners of Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Sargodha divisions took part in the meeting through video link.
The Rawalpindi commissioner said that 35 shops selling substandard medicines had been sealed and samples of 29 medicines had been sent to the district quality control board. He said that action had also been started against those selling narcotics by pretending to provide treatment to addicts.
The Gujranwala commissioner said that 42 people had been arrested, drug licences of 10 medical store owners had been cancelled and 67 stores had been sealed.
He said that people had been asked to inform the district administration through telephone about anyone involved in selling spurious or fake drugs.
The Faisalabad commissioner said 7,019 medical stores had been checked and 53 were sealed for selling fake drugs.
The Sargodha commissioner said that 1,435 medical stores were checked and 38 were sealed.
The additional chief secretary said that the district administration should speed up the campaign.
Punjab Healthcare Commission Chief Operating Officer Dr Ajmal Khan briefed the meeting about the strategy to eliminate quackery.
Khawaja Imran Nazir said that the campaign should focus on the units manufacturing fake and substandard medicines.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2015.
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