Vijayawada:Andhra Pradesh Drugs Control Administration has urged the Central government to withdraw exemption from licence over sale of ethanol-based hand sanitisers, citing that these products are being sold as substitutes for liquor in Vijayawada.

Drugs Control Administration director-general P. Arun Babu has written to Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) pointing out that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the centre had issued Notification S.O. 245(E) on July 27, 2020, exempting hand sanitisers from the requirement of a sale licence to ensure their easy availability during the pandemic.

Arun Babu said the exemption is now being allegedly misused. Some traders in Vijayawada are selling to customers ethanol-based hand sanitisers, which they consume in place of liquor. During its inspections and raids, drugs control administration found that some retail medical shops are selling ethanol-based sanitisers in unusually large quantities.

For example, officials seized purchase and sale bills from Sai Venkateswara Pharmacy and Surgicals at Patamata in Vijayawada. The records showed that the establishment had purchased and sold around 33,586 bottles of 70 per cent v/v ethanol sanitiser, each containing 100 ml, over about 18 months.

The department has initiated action to cancel the licences of three retail medical outlets in connection with the alleged misuse of hand sanitisers, Arun Babu underlined.

He expressed concern that the exemption introduced as a temporary measure during Covid-19 pandemic is continuing even four years later, creating scope for misuse of ethanol-based sanitisers.

Pointing out that ethanol-free sanitisers are now readily available in the market, the director-general requested the centre to withdraw the sale-licence exemption for ethanol-based sanitisers in the larger public interest. The withdrawal would prevent sale of ethanol-based sanitisers as substitute for liquor.

Tags: