Centre bans OTC cough syrup sales; pharmacy-only rule tightens retail compliance
Union Health Ministry has amended the Drugs Rules 1945 to ban over-the-counter sale of cough syrups without a doctor's prescription, scrapping the village-level exemption. Sales are now restricted to licensed pharmacies, following DEG contamination deaths in MP and Gambia. Move reshapes pharmacy retail norms and squeezes informal rural channels.
Centre bans OTC sale of cough syrups without doctor prescription, amending Drugs Rules 1945 to drop village-level exemption. Sale now restricted to licensed pharmacies, tightening pharmacy retail norms after DEG contamination deaths in MP and Gambia.