increasingly abused<\/a> for its sedative and psychoactive properties.<\/p>\nThe government advisory follows a decision taken in a meeting held on 18 July under the 11th National Narcotics Coordination (NCORD) mechanism. The move is meant to stop the sale of Schedule H, H1, and X drugs\u2014medicines that legally require a doctor\u2019s prescription, and can\u2019t be administered without proper medical supervision.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tShow Full Article<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been desired by members of the meeting that installation of surveillance cameras in all medical shops must be ensured as a measure to prevent the sale of dual-use medicines without any prescription,\u201d reads the advisory issued by the Delhi Drug Control Department.<\/p>\n
The move follows a citywide crackdown in June when the Drugs Control Department of Delhi\u00a0seized over 160 samples of suspected cancer medications and found that many lacked proper documentation or bore suspicious markings.<\/p>\n
While the health department maintains that the CCTV installation is mandatory, pharmacist associations insist they have not received any notification saying it is mandatory.<\/p>\n
Speaking to ThePrint, Delhi Health Minister Dr Pankaj Kumar Singh said, \u201cIt is mandatory. Everyone will have to follow it. What action will be taken against those who don\u2019t comply will be decided later.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Sandeep Nangia, president of the Retail Distribution Chemist Alliance (RDCA), contested the nature of the advisory. \u201cThis is an advisory, not a mandate,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it\u2019s mandatory, notify it. Make a rule, a provision, whatever you want, but follow a systematic process.\u201d Nangia said he has forwarded the advisory to RDCA members, leaving the decision to them. \u201cI haven\u2019t asked anyone to not comply,\u201d he clarified.<\/p>\n
He also pointed out the financial strain the directive could put on small-scale chemists. \u201cThere are pharmacies in Delhi that barely manage monthly sales of Rs 5,000 or Rs 12,000. How can they afford CCTV systems that require not just cameras but a full setup with monitors and storage?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy doesn\u2019t the government install cameras in every corner of the country? That is also needed. Whatever they can\u2019t do, they make us do,\u201d Nangia added.<\/p>\n
According to the Delhi government\u2019s department of health & family welfare, there are around 30,000 registered pharmacies in the capital. Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) have been assigned responsibility for monitoring and enforcing implementation. \u201cAlmost 40 percent shops have already installed CCTV cameras,\u201d Singh told ThePrint.<\/p>\n
The recent directive is not the first of its kind. In July 2023 too, the Delhi government had ordered pharmacies to install CCTV cameras to combat drug abuse among minors. That order was followed by a circular from the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), which sought district-wise data on pharmacies selling Schedule H and X drugs without surveillance systems.<\/p>\n
According to the latest advisory, pharmacies must ensure that Schedule H, H1, and X drugs are only sold upon presentation of a valid prescription from a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP). These medicines are listed under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, and are marked with an \u201cRx\u201d symbol and a warning label.<\/p>\n
The list includes over 500 drugs including antibiotics, antidepressants, anti-diabetics like metformin, and psychiatric drugs like risperidone and alprazolam.<\/p>\n
Despite regulatory frameworks, enforcement remains patchy, leading to concerns over drug misuse, rising antimicrobial resistance, and increasing health risks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not against surveillance,\u201d Nangia said. \u201cBut it has to be fair. If the government wants compliance, it should either subsidise the setup or provide it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen this directive came, we wrote to the Commission for Protection of Child Rights, telling them it\u2019s simply not feasible,\u201d said Rajeev Singhal, general secretary of the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD). \u201cYou can\u2019t expect this in every corner of the country\u2014we just don\u2019t have the infrastructure. It\u2019s not practical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Singhal suggested that instead of mandating CCTV cameras, the authorities can strictly collect records they already maintain for Schedule H1 drugs. \u201cWe\u2019re willing to submit them to the drug department regularly and diligently,\u201d Singhal told ThePrint.<\/p>\n
As per Rule 65 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, chemists are legally required to maintain a register documenting each sale of prescription-only medicines, including the name and address of the prescribing doctor and patient.<\/p>\n
For Schedule X drugs, which are classified under the highest level of regulatory control and generally include psychotropic substances, the rules are even more stringent. These drugs must not be sold without a valid prescription, and their sale, storage, and documentation are subject to close scrutiny to prevent potential abuse or diversion.<\/p>\n
(Edited by Viny Mishra)<\/p>\n
Also read: Punjab\u2019s new drug problem is pregabalin. Cheap, unchecked, gives a \u2018gentle high\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Delhi: Pharmacists across the national capital are upset with the Delhi government\u2019s advisory mandating CCTV cameras in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[64,63,23941,23942,137,490,1679,23943],"class_list":{"0":"post-24189","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cctv-cameras","11":"tag-delhi-government","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-medication","14":"tag-medicine","15":"tag-pharmacist"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}