nPROUD: Govt's ambitious drive to dispose of unused, expired drugs

To mitigate risk of expired drugs being recycled & misused; pilot project to be rolled out in Jan

- UNNIKRISHNAN S @T'Puram

The drugs control department has launched an ambitious initiative to tackle the growing environmental threat and potential health issues like anti-microbial resistance, posed by unused and expired drugs, such as antibiotics, tablets, ointments, and inhalers.

The programme also aims to mitigate the risk of expired drugs being recycled and misused.

A pilot project will roll out in January in Kozhikode corporation and Ulliyeri panchayat, covering nearly two lakh households and thousands of medical stores.

The initiative comes at a time when large volumes of drug waste are being generated daily.

A similar collection drive by the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA) in Thiruvananthapuram five years ago had managed to collect five tonnes of waste in just one month.