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| People in J&K spend more on medicines than on milk | | | Over the years consumption of medicines, especially the one belonging to the category of allopathic stream, in Jammu and Kashmir is said to be the highest in the country on the basis of its area and population. Interestingly, the state has been the first where medicines, meant for treatment to various ailments and health problems, are being sold by the chemists without any prescription from the doctors. Reports indicate that people in the state are more informed about the medicines and their effect than those living in other states of India. Making available medicines without doctors prescription is catching up in other states too after the chemists and druggists found that their sales touched new high when they started selling medicines to people without doctors prescription. In fact the rise in the use of medicines by people in Jammu and Kashmir has become almost a national phenomenon. You cannot expect a chemist in a foreign country to sell even simple pain reliever tablets without doctor's prescription. There is also a difference as far as the quantum of medicines prescribed by the doctors in India and in foreign lands is concerned. In the west doctors try to prescribe minimum possible drugs that are effective for treating a specific health problem. Since there is a nexus between the doctors and the pharmaceutical companies through medical representatives in India doctors prescribe, on an average, five to seven drugs for treating minor ailments. This is one of the reasons for the steep increase in the consumption of medicines.
Since medicines in Jammu and Kashmir are available even without the prescription from the doctor’s peoples' level of intake of pain killers, antibiotics and vitamins has kept on rising. Official figures reveal that People in Jammu & Kashmir consume medicines worth Rs 600 crore every year of which medicines worth Rs 400 crore are taken in the Kashmir valley.. About 3000 wholesalers and 5000 medicine retailers operate in the valley. This information has been made available at a meeting held to discuss and review various drug control methods in the valley where it was stressed that only prescribed medication methods should be practised by pharmacists and chemists. At the meeting serious concern was expressed over the rising consumption of drugs. “The rising drug intake problem is one of the serious challenges we are facing today.” is the view held by the Government authorities who wanted that no medicines without prescription of the doctor should be sold to patients.
The problem is not confined only to the rise in consumption of medicines but to the availability of spurious drugs in the markets in Jammu and Kashmir. The department of Drug controller, in the last year, conducted 8185 inspections out of which 645 samples were lifted from the government and private market and only six were found of standard quality. In addition, 13 licenses were cancelled and 28 suspended for violating various provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Experts are of the opinion that militancy related violence and all that flowed with it has been the cause for rise in tension and various health problems in Jammu and Kashmir. The rate of mental disorder,hypertension,heart ailments,renal problems leading to kidney failures,diabetes etc continue to be very high in Jammu and Kashmir which has been the main reason for increase in the consumption of medicines.One report said that prior to the rise of militancy the annual consumption of medicines in the Kashmir valley used to range betweeen Rs.70 and Rs.80 crores.In this connection three courss were to be adopted to reduce the annual consumption of drugs in the state. First was that enforcement of law prohibiting chemists for selling medicines without doctors' prescription be enforced strictly.Secondly,people need to be made aware of the side effects of self-medication.Thirdly,doctors be told in clear terms that they should prescribe minimum number of medicines. In the absence of these corrective people in the state will continue to spend more on medicians than on milk.
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