Cough Syrup Scare

The deaths of 14 children in Madhya Pradesh linked to the toxic cough syrup Coldrif have once again exposed a disturbing pattern in India's pharmaceutical safety regime. It is not the first time that a contaminated medicine has slipped through the cracks, and unless urgent corrective steps are taken, it won't be the last. The tragedy must serve as a wake-up call for every state and Union Territory, including Jammu and Kashmir, to act before such poison reaches our shelves.

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Laboratory tests have found that Coldrif, manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals in Tamil Nadu, contained 48.6% diethylene glycol (DEG), nearly 480 times the permissible limit. DEG is not a harmless impurity; it is an industrial solvent used in brake fluid and antifreeze. Even tiny doses can cause irreversible kidney failure and death, especially in children. It is horrifying that such a product made its way into pharmacies and homes, killing infants who were simply given medicine for cough and cold.