TG SAFE Detects Violations At 137 Medical Shops In Drug Sale Crackdown
TG SAFE detected violations at 137 medical shops across Telangana during a crackdown on the illegal sale of habit-forming drugs and prescription medicines.
The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) said it had detected violations at 137 medical shops during a statewide enforcement drive against the illegal sale of habit-forming drugs on Thursday. It issued showcause notices to the erring establishments, proposing action including suspension or cancellation of drug licences.
The teams used decoy operations and test purchases to check whether medical shops were dispensing such medicines without valid prescriptions from registered medical practitioners, in Saroornagar, Balapur, Hayathnagar, Musheerabad, Secunderabad, Begumpet and Amberpet with the CURE region and in other districts.
The drive focused on the indiscriminate sale of habit-forming medicines, including nitrazepam, alprazolam, tramadol, tapentadol, pregabalin-containing formulations and zolpidem tablets, as well as codeine-based cough syrups. Officials also checked the sale of drugs classified under Schedules H1 and X of the Drugs Rules.
The violations included selling prescription drugs without prescriptions, failure to maintain prescription and Schedule H1 registers, and dispensing medicines in the absence of a registered pharmacist. Officials also found cases of medicines being sold without bills and shops failing to maintain or produce sales and purchase records.