Bangalore: The State Drugs Control Department will establish a modern laboratory through a World Bank-funded project of the Union Government. It will also launch a drug information and awareness initiative.

The laboratory, which is under construction, has received Rs. 4.51 crore from the Centre. The project will be executed by the Hospital Consultancy Services Wing of the Centre, B.G. Prabhakumar, Deputy Drugs Controller, told The Hindu.

Upgraded drug-testing services will be ready by mid-2007. According to Mr. Prabhakumar, equipment for the laboratory will be procured by the Central authorities and handed over to the department once the building is ready. "To deal with the numerous samples that we receive for testing, the Government has sanctioned 10 posts of chemists this year," he said.

Mr. Prabhakumar said that with its limited resources the old laboratory was able to handle only 3,000 samples a year. With the upgraded services, it was hoped that more than 5,000 samples would be tested each year.

In view of complaints about spurious drugs and alleged violations by chemists and druggists in the State and with the Drugs Control Department drawing criticism for its inability to deal with over-the-counter sale of medicines, the department has launched a campaign to provide information on medicines. It is also aimed at making blood donors and recipients aware of the statutory guidelines for blood banks. This will help avoid mismatch and violations. The State Government has allocated Rs. 21 lakh for the programme. "We are planning to launch the campaign by releasing posters next week.

The posters and other publicity material will be displayed outside chemists and druggists' stores at bus stands and railway stations and city corporation premises across the State," Mr. Prabhakumar said.

The principles

He said the department had come out with "10 golden principles" to be observed when purchasing drugs, such as "Buy from a licensed druggist", "take the prescription with you", "insist on a bill", and "verify date of expiry". "We are taking these steps to control the sale of spurious drugs and violations in blood banks and make the people aware of their responsibilities in this regard," Mr. Prabhakumar said.

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