Recipe for death: Popular dye becomes instrument of suicide
There have been 38 cases of PPD poisoning in the past four months in DG Khan
DERA GHAZI KHAN:
A chemical used for dyeing hair is being used as a poison in Dere Ghazi Khan. In four months, there have been 138 cases of poisoning using para-phenylenediamine (PPD) popularly known as black stone.
Doctors and civil society have demanded a ban on the over-the-counter sale of the chemical.
According to statistics obtained from the Dera Ghazi Khan Teaching Hospital, out of the 138 people brought to the hospital after taking PPD, 30 had died. Prof Ibrar Hussain Khosa, the ICU in charge, said that the chemical, sold in the form of a white powder, was tasteless and colourless. “It can be easily mixed in food or drink,” he said. Khosa said that he had informed Teaching Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Musa Kaleem about the issue.
“We have written to the regional police officer (RPO) and the district police officer (DPO), urging them to take action against the open sale of PPD,” he said.
Dera Ghazi Khan District Coordination Officer Amjad Shoaib Khan Tareen told The Express Tribune that he had asked the Health Department to submit a detailed report about the chemical’s use as a poison. “We will then decide whether or not to ban the sale of the chemical,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2014.
A chemical used for dyeing hair is being used as a poison in Dere Ghazi Khan. In four months, there have been 138 cases of poisoning using para-phenylenediamine (PPD) popularly known as black stone.
Doctors and civil society have demanded a ban on the over-the-counter sale of the chemical.
According to statistics obtained from the Dera Ghazi Khan Teaching Hospital, out of the 138 people brought to the hospital after taking PPD, 30 had died. Prof Ibrar Hussain Khosa, the ICU in charge, said that the chemical, sold in the form of a white powder, was tasteless and colourless. “It can be easily mixed in food or drink,” he said. Khosa said that he had informed Teaching Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Musa Kaleem about the issue.
“We have written to the regional police officer (RPO) and the district police officer (DPO), urging them to take action against the open sale of PPD,” he said.
Dera Ghazi Khan District Coordination Officer Amjad Shoaib Khan Tareen told The Express Tribune that he had asked the Health Department to submit a detailed report about the chemical’s use as a poison. “We will then decide whether or not to ban the sale of the chemical,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2014.