Pharmacies told to not sell 1 ml syringes without prescription

PHARMACIES have been advised to sell 1 and 2 ML syringes that are used by people with diabetes for taking insulin shots only to known customers.

-  R KIRUBAKARAN

The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department's informal instruction aims to curb drug abuse. However, this is set to inconvenience diabetic patients who regularly take insulin if they can't produce the prescription at a new shop or place.

"The sale of scheduled drugs has almost been regulated and brought under complete surveillance. On the other hand, the police investigation revealed that most insulin syringes are used in drug abuse cases. So we have advised pharmacies not to sell those syringes to unknown people, as they approach pharmacies on the pretext of buying syringes for insulin shots. We are making all the efforts in whatever form we can to prevent drug abuse," said S Gurubharathi, Assistant Director of the Drug Control, Coimbatore zone.