78% drop in sale of abortion pills

Following the decision of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to tighten the screws on the sale of abortion pills, sale of such drugs has dropped by a whopping 78% across the state.

This was declared by FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade while talking to DNA on Saturday in Pune. However, a worrying trend was noticed by FDA in the form of pharmaceutical companies pushing the sale of such drugs by offering lucrative deals to doctors.

“Since the last few months, we have started implementing the tenets of Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940. We have started action against doctors/wholesellers/retailers of such drugs who have not been following prescribed norms. The drop in the sale of these drugs is a clear indication that we have been successful in our drive,’’ he said.

According to Zagade, the above act lays down strict guidelines for the sale of abortion pills. The guidelines make it mandatory for chemists to take photocopies of  prescription, noting down the addresses of patients and doctors. Also, only a qualified gynaecologist can prescribe these drugs.

Till date, FDA has filed 28 First Information Reports (FIR) against doctors, pharmacists, retailers and others for not following guidelines. Commenting on the trend of pharmaceutical companies pushing sale of such drugs, he said companies through their medical representatives are luring doctors with schemes like ‘buy 1 get 5 free’. “This is a serious trend and we are going to take action against them,’’ he said.