Misuse of prescription medicines and skin lightening products

Police in India have arrested the owner of a pharmaceutical company that manufactured a cough syrup connected to the deaths of at least 17 children in the country.

The owner of Tamil Nadu based Sresan Pharmaceuticals was arrested and faces having its license revoked pending a decision by the federal health ministry.

Initial tests by authorities in India say that the test samples of Coldrif contained diethylene glycol (DEG) — a highly toxic industrial solvent and that the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department shows that cough syrup was manufactured in unhygienic factory conditions.

Although there are no exports of the medicine in question, there is a need for Sri Lanka to be alert for medicines that come, not only from India but other countries with regulatory issues, so as to avoid any such tragedy.

According to foreign media reports the World Health Organization has confirmed from India that three contaminated syrups had been identified, and none had been exported and the country had a “regulatory gap” in screening locally-sold syrup medicines.

As far back as 2023, the WHO cautioned against the use of cough syrup particularly for children after cases were reported from several countries involving incidents of over-the-counter cough syrups for children with confirmed or suspected contamination with high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG).

Despite many attempts to regulate the overuse of prescription medicines, there continues in Sri Lanka the ability to buy most medicines over the counter. From strong painkillers to antibiotics to statins, most medicines can be bought over the counter without a proper prescription.

While Sri Lanka has escaped any major tragedies of the sort that happened in India, there are few studies to show how the abuse and overuse of prescription medicines are affecting people and leading to other medical conditions including liver and kidney diseases.

This is not the only worrying tread. There is almost an addiction to skin lightening products in the country with many being freely advertised with no warnings of the side effects they can have in the long term. While advertising on television and newspapers is not allowed, there is plenty of advertising on social media driving the craze to lighten skins with teenagers among those who have fallen prey to such advertising.

The Consumer Affairs Authority has warned against use of skin care products that contain mercury. In May this year, it released the names of 49 hazardous skin products containing mercury but it’s likely these items are still on the market disguised with new names.

Given the limited resources in checking these products as well as the lack of public education on the harm of long term use of such products, the health authorities may have to face new challenges for treating those impacted by the use of these products.

The CAA needs more funding to strengthen its awareness building programs so that there is adequate warning to consumers who may buy such products. Otherwise, lured by the promise of miraculous results, many will use them and may have to suffer in the long run.

The incidents in India is not only a wakeup call to Sri Lanka and other countries but also bring to light the bigger issue of the free availability of unregulated products. Health authorities should concentrate on making the public aware of the danger they face by the haphazard use of prescription medicines as well as unregulated beauty products.