New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said on Saturday that 10 retail drug dealers from West Delhi are under the Drugs Control Department’s scanner for contravening provisions of the Drugs Rules, 1945, and necessary action has been initiated against the erring firms.

He said the department carried out a Special Inspection and Enforcement Drive at Nangloi, Delhi, with the objective of ensuring the availability of safe, effective and quality medicines and curbing unethical trade practices.

During the drive, enforcement teams inspected 12 retail drug dealers. Out of these, 10 firms were found contravening provisions of the Drugs Rules, 1945, said a statement.

Additionally, 49 survey samples of various medicines were collected for test and analysis to verify compliance with prescribed quality standards, he said.

During inspection, certain firms were also found displaying unauthorised discount boards/offers in violation of the provisions of the Act and Rules, he said.

“These boards were removed on the spot, and the firms were directed to strictly adhere to the norms,” he said.

The Health Minister said, “The Delhi government is committed to protecting citizens from spurious and substandard medicines. No fake medicines will be allowed to be sold in Delhi. Enforcement will be intensified wherever violations are found.”

The Health Department continues to maintain strict regulatory oversight to safeguard public health and uphold ethical pharmaceutical practices across the National Capital, said a statement.

The Drugs Control Department has been carrying out a special inspection and enforcement drive across the National Capital Territory to strengthen regulatory oversight of lifesaving anti-cancer medicines and protect vulnerable patients undergoing critical treatment.

Last week, a Delhi government drive to check the quality of anti-cancer medicines detected that six firms were contravening provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules.

The inspections to weed out fake or substandard medicines covered areas such as Laxmi Nagar, Yusuf Sarai, Green Park, Okhla Industrial Area, Paschim Vihar, Dwarka and Rohini.

Multiple teams of the Drugs Control Department conducted inspections of 25 retail and wholesale establishments dealing in anti-cancer drugs across key areas of the city, including localities around major hospital clusters and pharmaceutical markets in East, South, West and North-West Delhi.

–IANS

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