In many homes across Pakistan, a bottle of cough syrup lies at the ready. But when 23 children died in India’s Madhya Pradesh after consuming a contaminated ‘harmless’ syrup, the tragedy was a shock to the world. In Pakistan, where self-medication is routine and syrups are generously handed to children, the warning barely roused a response.
In our country, parents believe that over-the-counter syrups are safe purely because they taste sweet and are easily available. The culture of self-medication means that a cough, fever or cold is treated at home, often without doctor’s consultation. The incident in India revealed that the culprit was not the cough or the child, it was the syrup laced with a toxic solvent, diethylene glycol (DEG) at 500 times the permissible limit.
Many pharmacies operate without proper oversight, and raw materials for medicines are often imported and less rigorously checked. In fact, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) confirmed that while the harmful syrups in India were not exported to Pakistan, it is actively making glycerine, propylene glycol and sorbitol tests mandatory and stepping up inspections.
Health authorities must enforce stricter quality control; ensure every cough syrup meets safety standards and crack down on unregistered or poorly manufactured medicines. Parents and caregivers must also avoid the assumption that a syrup is harmless and must seek professional advice before giving it to children.
Hafsa Shahid Memon
Sukkur
